Souls Run Deep
by Mable
Summary: The lives of the Stitchpunks are once again thrown into a spiral after the Machine's return. What Nine doesn't know is that what shall come from it will be something that will change their lives forever, or whether it will be for the better or not. (Ongoing Series)
1. Chapter 1: The Returning Horror

**Mable: This is my first chaptered fic I've worked on in a while… Goodness me, it feels nice to write something with length again! I don't feel much that I have to say except the normal 'I don't own the Stitchpunks and such… Anyway, Enjoy!**

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_**Souls run Deep**_

_Chapter One: The Returning Horror_

The sharp scream sent anyone in the vicinity spiraling out of their beds. It was Six's trademark cry that indicated a nightmare, though none of the Stitchpunks had heard anything this grueling since the Fabrication Machine Incident. Nine immediately awoke and found himself panicking as he imagined a Beast attacking the Sanctuary. The only thing that managed to make him aware of the situation was the sound of Five's footsteps as he ran from his bed, they shared a room, to get to Six.

Eventually Nine managed to wrestle himself out of his tangled blankets and stumbled towards the door before peering down the hall. Five, or someone, had already lit the candle in Six's room and it sent a warm glow into the corridor that connected the Stitchpunks' sleeping quarters together in the New Sanctuary. It wasn't nearly as grand as the Cathedral, but rebuilding a room inside the walls of the library had managed to create a rather comfortable abode where they had lived happily in the months up until now.

The burlap male stepped out of his room and wandered down the hall towards Six's. He could hear the faint sounds of Six babbling uncontrollably and sounding wound up. This was a shock, as since the incident Six managed to stay a bit more stable, and the nightmares had seemed to ease. Nine entered the room to see that Six wasn't alone. Five was standing by the bed trying to comfort him and on the bed sat Two who must have run down the hall to arrive so quickly, being able to do so easier with his fixed legs.

"Six?" Nine asked softly and watched pitifully as Six hid deeper into Two's front. Apparently, even with the soft whimpering of words, Six didn't want to talk about whatever he had witnessed in his nightmares. Not more than a few seconds after this, when Five went to speak, he was cut off by the curtain being thrown open and another storming in. "What is it? What happened?" One demanded, naturally wanting to know every detail of any event that occurred in the Sanctuary.

Two had sewn the new cape, One had found a piece of a small broken bottle and worked with it until he made a crown, and with that their present leader had returned to full height. While One was a little more lenient on the others, his nature couldn't completely be deterred, which is why with one glance of Six he spun on his heel and glared at something still in the hall. "What did you do this time?!" He growled out and was responded with a desperate plea from what sounded to be a very exhausted Eight. "I didn't do anything! I was sleeping!"

Five chimed up, "Six had a nightmare, One. Eight wasn't in here." It was obvious why One assumed it, though. Eight still taunted Six and very much bullied him about with words and the occasional destroyed picture. However, the guard knew when to stop, and as such this wasn't his handiwork in the slightest. In Eight's defense, perhaps, Six began to babble again, "We came back with the rain, it came back with the source."

The Source; immediately Nine's head filled with memories that he didn't want to remember, memories about the machine. With these memories came questions and paranoia that led him to blurting out, "The Machine?" Immediately One chimed in, "There is no need to discuss that." He looked to Six and tried to explain relatively calm and softly, "Six, the Machine is no more. It was simply a nightmare." He said it in determination, as though his words would silence the thoughts.

Six couldn't silence his own thoughts though. "It's coming." He finally got out, pulling into a ball and rocking on his bed, "It's coming. Time to wake up…" One still was insistent and by now Seven had moved into the doorway, the twins peering from behind her. "Is Six alright?" She asked softly and Two nodded before taking the striped one in his arms again, "He will be fine, but he needs more rest. It would be best if everything quiets down."

This was a direct signal to One who sent Two a small glare, but complied with the suggestion by exiting the room and taking Eight with him. Soon, Seven also ushered the twins away, and only Two and Five stayed with Six, along with Nine. Five spoke up, "I can take Six to Nine and my room. He might feel better if he isn't alone." Before Nine could ask, Two and Five began to lead Six to the other room. Once they were gone, Nine found his optics curiously scanning the room for any new pictures.

Recently Six had taken up drawing scenery. Sometimes they were places that Six saw in books, sometimes places he saw when rarely venturing outside, and a few times they were places that Six saw when in his dreams. It was easy to see the one drawing that stood out among the others. It was a large piece of paper with a bizarre circle, almost a whirl wind, of black ink. The whirl wind seemed to have claws, and a clear symbol located in its center.

There was no denying that Six had drawn some sort of horrible representation of the Fabrication Machine. Nine suddenly felt like he was lightheaded and stumbled back from the drawing. There was also no denying that Six was always right when he saw these things, and Nine found himself stumbling back before turning to return to his room. He decided to pointedly wait until Five was asleep, because he knew that Six would still be awake.

"Six?" He sat up from his bed where he had been pretending to sleep. Six was in Five's bed and curled close the edge face Nine, so he could see when the Artist moved a bit. Six looked up with this weird look that was sent through the dim light of the bedroom. It was almost as though he knew Nine was going to speak. Before the zippered one could speak, the Artist slipped out of bed and quickly crossed to the other's own, lying down on top of the blankets like he was preparing to go to sleep there.

"Hello." He said softly, optics closing, and Nine continued, "I saw your picture… The picture of the Machine." He felt the shiver through the bed and Six whimpered, "Tomorrow… Tomorrow it awakes, tomorrow we aren't safe, it's all over tomorrow." Nine leaned closer, curious and desperate for answers, "What happens tomorrow?" When the striped one didn't answer the burlap one made his own assumption. "Wait, are you saying that the Machine is… Is going to awaken tomorrow?!"

He clasped his hand over his mouth and looked over at Five's bed. The healer moved a little and yet didn't awaken as he was a relatively heavy sleeper. Nine looked back to Six whose optics were now open, wide with fear, and knew his answer. However, Six burst out, "I think we… I'm thinking we can stop it." Suddenly he seemed to have a clear head, "Tomorrow, we can get there first, we can stop the awakening."

Nine was quizzical, "But we stopped the Machine. It fell apart from the Talisman." Suddenly he wanted to run to the depths of the library and check to make sure the Talisman he put away was still there. Six was insistent, "Something kept it alive. Maybe it was rebuilt?" There was no denying that there were other Machines that were still alive. Nine never expected that they could rebuild the Machine though.

"Okay." Nine took it in and lay back on the bed, "Okay, it's going to awake, but we can stop it, okay." Six began to sit up, "Have to go tomorrow, early, or we won't make it." He then climbed off of the bed and walked over to Five's bed again before climbing under the covers, as though to hide Nine and his talk. Meanwhile, the burlap one didn't think he could sleep after hearing such horrific news, but he didn't doubt Six's feelings anymore, not after the incident.

All he doubted was himself. Nine was determined not to let the others down again, even if it meant risking his own life in the process.

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"Nine." A sharp nudge poked into Nine's side and caused the male to groan a bit. He didn't awaken fully, though, and began to nod off again. "Nine." This time the voice was obviously distressed, and shaking him again. It didn't stop until the male reluctantly rolled over and looked at him. It was Six who looked quite concerned. Past him, Nine could see Five sitting on his bed, putting things into his bag as though he was getting ready to go somewhere.

That's when Nine perked up, "Is it morning?" Six nodded and Five spoke up, "It's a little before sunrise, but Six said we need to leave now." The Artist nodded, "We'll get there a little before… A bit before…. Then." Nine looked confused, "We'll get there 'then'? When it wakes up?" The striped one shrugged, unsure, and Nine stumbled out of bed. He quickly grabbed his rebuilt Lightstaff off of its leaning point against the wall. It looked a lot like the old one, save releasing a green glow from a tinted bulb and being a bit shorter in length.

"We have to go, now, come on Five." He beckoned to the one eyed one and began to nearly dash to the door. He didn't stop, either, but was relieved to hear Five and Six following from behind. None of the others were awake and Nine even glanced into One's room to make sure that he hadn't heard them. He continued to the bucket lift where he rushed inside and nearly ran right into the pale Stitchpunk known as Seven.

He had to smother a cry of surprise as Six nearly ran into his back. Seven quietly ushered him inside and Five passed over to attend to the crank. "What are you doing here?" Nine whispered and Seven smiled, "I am glad to be so horrifying that I make you scream." She teased, "Six woke me a little bit ago and told me what's going on." Five spoke up, "Me too." Nine turned grim, "He told you about the Machine awaking, right?"

The Warrior also turned serious, "He did, and I can't very well say that I didn't expect it to happen eventually. It was only a matter of time." The others silently agreed with this thought and began to relax into the short ride on the bucket lift. Once over, they were soon exiting the library and heading out into the Emptiness, feeling uneasy and definitely not safe. The darkness began to eventually give in to light as the sun began to rise slowly and turn into a clear morning, a morning so peaceful that it wouldn't forewarn any tragedy.

Nine knew better than to trust the weather for this and continued on solemnly. It was a good fifteen minutes before they began to approach where the Machine's remains were. Once they got in sight, though distant, Six began to get frantic and Nine began to grow worried. "Maybe we should run….-towards it. So we can get there quicker." Six suggested while speeding up his pace to a near jog. This is when Seven suddenly grabbed his shoulder and stopped him.

"Look." She commanded, and the artist did, and only then did he and Nine see what she and possibly Five were staring at. Around the Machine were a few black blurs that were recognized as some sort of smaller beasts. Closer still, Nine could see they were the small, spider-like repair beasts that used to fill the factory. They were obviously working on the Fabrication Machine, and they managed to get there right in time.

Suddenly Six turned to Nine, "You shouldn't have brought it." As though he read Nine's mind, whose hand rested on his zipper, feeling for the talisman being carried inside. Seven brought them all out of their thoughts, "The Repairing Beasts seem relatively small. If we take them out one at a time, we should be able to overtake them." The others agreed cautiously and Five aimed his harpoon, "Maybe… Maybe if I hit one it would lure it over…" The last few words were mere whispers, followed by the sound of the needle being shot.

Five must have had impeccable aim for it managed to clip one of the small beasts. It let out a cry of aggression rather than pain and turned upon when the needle had come. Suddenly, it, and a much larger group than anticipated, began to swarm towards the four small dolls. There were others still located on the beast, working, and Nine suddenly felt horror. "You guys try to stop these ones. I'll go distract the ones working on the Machine." As he made a dash for the Machine, almost in an arch, a few of the swarming beasts followed.

That still left the remaining three with many more to deal with. Five began firing and reloading quickly, shooting out the machines' glowing eyes, and actually able to destroy one from a particularly deep needle going into its center. Seven ran ahead towards the swarm head on before quickly moving to the side to trick them, and promptly leapt upon the closest beast, putting her spear down through its topside, stopping it in its tracks. "They're easy to kill…" She noted, then turned to Five, "Keep going! We can take them down!"

Neither noticed that when Six tried to back off and hide behind an old piece of cement he was followed. He only noticed when he heard the noise coming from the Beast as it crawled over the cement and leapt down upon him. His back hit the ground and its legs began to sharply prod at his body. It was almost like it was looking for a way to kill Six like shutting down a defective Machine.

He tried to knock it off but found it overpowering him. That is, until it finally flew back, and Six realized that something must have shoved it off. Right after this, with the Beast still on its back, Six tried to leap on it and brought his sharp fingers down into its underbelly and eyes. He couldn't do much else as his head suddenly began to pound heavily in horrific pain. By time he fell over, useless, the Beast no longer moved and Six could only remain on the ground while waiting for the sharp pain to slowly dissipate.

Then there was Nine, running nearly in circles, trying to escape the beasts. They were drawn to him, however, and eventually one managed to get him down, ripping his zipper down and tapping at his insides until the Talisman fell out. It was immediately drawn to it, but before it could make another movement it was halted by a spear going straight into its side. Seven had gotten there in the nick of time. "Are you okay?" She asked and Nine nodded before zipping himself up, only to stop and look over to the Talisman beside him.

Or the Talisman that had been beside him. Now he could clearly see a Repair Beast dashing away and suspected that it was carrying the one thing capable of awaking the Machine. Nine followed, grabbing his light staff and trying to follow him. Instead, however, the Beast scaled the Machine and disappeared out of sight. Nine's relief that it hadn't yet put the Talisman in the Machine was soon smothered by the other small repair beasts beginning to close in. There were about five of them and Nine backed away slowly.

That was when his back hit something cold and metal. Slowly Nine looked over his shoulder to see that he was hitting the Fabrication Machine itself. He jumped back and fell onto his backside in alarm, crying out. It looked nearly completely repaired and he was panting in terror as he swore he saw the optic move. That's when the Repair Beast with the Talisman scaled down over the eye, preparing to replace the Talisman, and thus awaken the Machine. Even though Nine swore he saw it move once again like it was already awake.

The Repair Beast went to lower the Talisman in the port and Nine leapt forward to wrestle it out of the grasp. The tug of war was hard with a creature so determined not to let go and another equally as determined not to let the other keep it. The beast began to shake him about and was surprisingly strong. It slammed Nine down onto the Machine beneath him and that was when tragedy struck. Nine didn't realize what had happened until the glow began to alert him of such.

In the end it was his efforts to pull the Talisman out of the Beast's grasp that caused him to fall forward and shove the Talisman right into the port. He tried to yank it out, but it wouldn't come out, and even when he tried to put the combination in it wouldn't work. Before he could continue trying, a metal claw enwrapped his body and suddenly flung backwards, throwing him many feet away. He was soon yanked to his feet by a concerned Five and looked towards the Machine.

It had just awoken and was going haywire. It began to lash out of the Repair Beasts and acted as though they were its aggressors, while ignoring the Stitchpunks. "The Talisman wouldn't come out!" Nine explained quickly as the others began to move back. Finally, they decided there was nothing they could do, less they make it worse, and the three began to run. Three, as Six didn't move until Five dashed back to tug him along, "Come on, Six!"

The Artist tried to resist, "Something's different. Look!" He pointed towards the Machine and now Five noticed there was something different; something changed. Now it was tossing the beast bodies around in a daze, as though confused, before it suddenly looked ahead and focused in on the dolls. With that, it weakly brought its arms down to drag itself towards the dolls. That's when Six cried, "It's awake!" Turned, and began to run faster than any of the others. Now Nine lagged a bit, but managed to keep running.

They managed to get out of sight of the Fabrication Machine before stopping briefly. "What happened?!" Seven asked desperately, out of concern and not anger. Nine responded as such, "I was… The Beast and… I tried to get it back out, but it wouldn't come out." That's when Five spoke up, looking a bit in shock and the entire ordeal, "They must have put a failsafe into it so that the Talisman couldn't be removed." Nine glanced at his shocked look and then turned to Six who was hysterically rambling, covering his face pitifully.

Seven took the liberty to embrace him and pet his back in a loving way, "It'll be okay, Six. You saw it; the Machine has changed. Maybe they didn't fix it correctly." With this, the zippered one perked, "You're right. It was attacking its own creations. This means that we might be able to stop it quicker. There aren't any other factories so it can't really build." Five now stood, "We have to warn the others." Nine winced, "Yeah… Warn the others." He couldn't help but regret having to see that look of disappointment on One's face.

They began a brisk pace towards the library. The memories returned again and Nine remembered the last time he awoke the Fabrication Machine. Thankfully, nobody had been lost, yet. As he followed behind the others he could only pitifully listen to Six's horror. "It's over, we failed, it awoke, he's going to be angry…"

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**Mable: And so it begins. I don't have much to say, except that I hope you enjoyed and continue reading! Chapter two will be posted tomorrow, no matter what, so, again, please keep reading. ^-^**


	2. Chapter 2: The Shattered Sanctuary

**Mable: Chapter Two, as promised, though I haven't even got a single review. Ah well, still the beginning of the fic, so it's alright. Anyway, I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

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_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Two: The Shattered Sanctuary_

It was almost like One knew what was coming. He waited at the top of the bucket lift with a glare of disappointment for when the four appeared. Though, thankfully, the second the lift stopped, Two appeared and seemed to stand right between the group and One. "Are you all alright? You left so early that I didn't have a chance to see you go." He smiled pleasantly up until he realized that the other Stitchpunks had grim looks on their face. One noticed their silence and immediately growled, "What did you do?"

"Six was right. The Machine is awake." Seven commented quickly and without any trace of blame. Two suddenly looked horrified while One glared at the female, "You are wrong. It is not possible." At this, Eight, who was at his post, chimed up, "Didn't it blow up in the factory?" One huffed, "No, _that _was _you_. The Machine was obliterated with the Talisman." He then spun to face Nine and Nine alone, "Where is the Talisman?" The burlap one just stared back and soon the Leader's optic widened in terror.

"What did you _do?!" _He nearly roared, but the emotion of anger and fear was understandable. Everyone else was acting just and confused and fearful. Surprisingly, Six got another burst of clarity. "It's broken. It began to attack its own Beasts." Remembering this, Five spoke up, "I saw it too." One retorted, "And that is supposed to change anything?!" He made a wild gesture to the vent covered window on the other side of the throne room. "There is a large, soul eating creature running rampant through the Emptiness!"

"But it is defective." Two suddenly spoke up. "One, you know that it wouldn't destroy its own creations unless something was wrong with it. Perhaps this means we can deal with this quickly. We can shut it down and take it apart piece by piece." He forced another reassuring smile, "Simple as that." One looked ready to explode and yet managed to keep it suppressed. He either knew Two was right or simply didn't want to risk yelling at the one who was taken first during the last incident dealing with the Fabrication Machine.

"How would we shut it down?" Five asked, "Nine, you said that the Talisman wouldn't come out." Two pondered this while One began to pace in aggravation, beginning to piece together what happened and not enjoying what he was seeing. The Inventor eventually came with an idea, "Perhaps we could give it a good jolt of electricity to put it into an unconscious state. Then we take it apart until he can actually climb inside and cut a few of the cords behind the optic."

"But I've seen electricity across its optic." Nine persisted and Two continued, "Electricity in Machines is well circulated. Too much, or too little, would throw any machine into complete chaos." Once again, One spoke up, "We do not even know if that Machine uses electricity. From what we have witnessed, it survives off the same thing that we do; our souls." By now, Six spoke up, "Its source is like our source." But Two was adamant, "Even if so, the electricity would force it to be stopped, even if for a short time."

The Inventor beckoned Five, "Would you help me get the generator from the workshop?" his apprentice immediately nodded and followed him into the back. The generator only supplied electricity to a few lights that had been set up in the sanctuary and seemed too small to really do anything. As soon as they left, Seven went to assist the twins who were standing nearby, looking scared. Nine huffed and turned to Six, "Come on, Six."

When he turned back, he was face to face with One, who was looking quite stern. "Did you do this?" He questioned, abruptly, seriously. Nine paused, trying to lie, but couldn't find the words. Instead he finally revealed the truth, "It was an accident." The leader huffed as Nine had and turned away, "What were you thinking?!" He demanded, "Once, yes, we could live with once, but twice?! Twice you have given that thing our lives, put our lives into its claws, and not once did you learn the lesson! Perhaps the third time!"

"There won't be a third time!" Nine retorted, "It was going to happen! It was moving _before _it got the talisman!" One turned towards him and glared, "Do not dare raise your voice at me! I am your leader and you will respect me!" When Nine didn't immediately apologize, One continued, "Perhaps you need to be shown who is higher than the other! Eight, come here!" The Guard stood and came up behind his leader threateningly. The leader continued, "Eight, you are very much needed." Then turned back to the guard.

"Eight… Go into my room and grab my crown. It is resting on the bed. Do not drop it on the floor this time!" Eight then turned to do such and One looked back at Nine, "One of us wears the crown and one of us is the leader." Nine was exasperated, "I don't want the-!" Suddenly, Six spoke up, "It likes when you two fight, because then you don't pay attention to it." In one second Nine and One went from fighting to quiet. As though Six had suddenly turned them in the right direction, they now knew exactly what they were really causing.

Finally Two returned, insistently carrying the generator on his back like a pack, and even when Five offered to carry it he waved it off. "It is fine. I can do this much. Besides, if you can carry supplies then I can carry supplies." Five wanted to bring up Two's formerly wounded legs, but decided not to do so, and instead followed loyally. Eight also returned and One topped his head with his crown, which Nine wasn't sure why he wasn't wearing earlier, and spoke, "This is foolish."

Then he continued, "However… I will not have another Sanctuary burn to the ground. We will attempt Two's plan simply to avoid this fate." He charged into the lift, Two following inside, but both Nine and Five waited until Seven returned with the twins to enter the lift. Eight also entered, tempted to sneak an attack on Six, but seeing the weird way Six was behaving he decided to wait until later. The four headed down and Five used the ropes to somewhat pull the lift up to the Sanctuary again.

Seven corralled the two young, twin Stitchpunk inside the bucket lift and was followed by the other two males. They began to also head down the lift and exited the bucket lift again. Soon they were heading out into the library, only to stop when they heard noises echoing from in the library. "You brought something back!" One whispered in accusation and Five shook his head, "I checked, nothing followed us. Whatever it is must have come after we arrived."

There was a howling noise and the Stitchpunks all recoiled. "It sounds like a Canine Beast." Two warned, "We should not try to approach it. They are certainly aggressive." He brought the twins close and took a route through the library near the edge of the wall. Seven was hesitant to follow, "It'll hear or see us if we all go together." She pulled her helmet down, "I'll go through the center, you all should take the long way around the other wall." Nine seemed discourage and prepared to offer his assistance.

"Yeah, I'll come with you." Eight abruptly announced. As usually he was unafraid and more than willing to take the unsafe route through the library, even though risking getting attacked by a random beast. One nodded in agreement and, in a fatherly way, wrapped his arm protectively around the still frightened Six. "Come along, you two." Five began to follow, but Nine didn't. So the Healer turned to him, "Nine?" Nine shook his head, "I'm going with Seven and Eight. It's my fault the Machine is awake, I'll take the risk."

Five was about to protest, but caught Nine's stubborn gaze and sighed. "I'll make sure nothing happens to One and Six." Nine smiled and followed behind Seven and Eight. Maybe it was because of the Beast, but Seven and Eight's communications were minimized to looks and hand gestures that they understood. It was like they were speaking a language that he couldn't and he couldn't say he didn't feel a little helpless being with them.

This changed as soon as they heard the growl. It was followed by the sound of piles of books falling over and Eight whispered, "It's probably over to the right, there." Seven nodded in agreement, "What size would you say?" Eight shrugged, "I hear they're bigger than a Cat Beast. Sounds like it." Nine added in with his own, "Yeah." But added little to the conversation. Meanwhile, Five was moving with One and Six, up until they heard something strange. It was near an awfully large crack in the wall that they could hear this distinct sound of scratching.

Back with Nine, the three had managed to get somewhat past the Canine Beast, and were nearing the exit when everything failed at once. They had arrived in a more open area and went to pass straight through, unknowing that they had been spotted, and the only sound was a single growl before something leapt out and took Eight to the floor, as he was in the front. Eight's back hit the hard ground and all he could do was look up at the sharp teeth belonging to the Canine Beast.

It was about twice the size of a Cat Beast with two small red eyes. Its joints and legs looked a bit stiffer, but there were still claws on both front and back feet. At the base of its spine was a tail of small length that stood straight up, made of metal and bone. All Eight was looking at though were the very sharp teeth now inches from his fabric. Out of reflex, Seven ran towards its back leg and jabbed her spear into its joint. The Canine made a short whine and turned from Eight to look at Seven, growling even more menacingly.

Nine decided to assist by turning his Lightstaff on. The light certainly did distract the Beast, by causing it to jump forward and try to sink its jaws into Nine who managed to shove his Lightstaff vertically so that the Canine Beast couldn't bit him. They wrestled a bit, but Nine was soon to submit, until Eight rushed up and swung his knife into the Canine Beast's side. The Canine reached back and managed to snap its jaws around Eight's leg, shaking its head and swinging him the other way, then releasing.

The guard flew a foot away and hit the ground heavily, knife stabbing into a book and remaining there. Seven climbed the Canine Beast's lower back and began trying to stab into its depth, only doing a little bit of damage. Worried, the burlap male rushed to Eight's side. "Are you okay?" Eight quickly stood, "Yeah, I'm good." He brushed off and yet looked a little dizzy as he got to his feet and pulled his knife from the book's tight hold. Then he began to rush forward again.

One heard the noises from the fight, "We must keep moving!" Five wanted to, but he kept hearing that scratching and decided to briefly continue trying to figure out what it was, "I think there's something back behind this wall." One glared, "The Emptiness is behind that wall, nothing more!" The healer nodded, "You're right. I think I can… Can hear that Canine Beast with something." Before moving, he tapped the wall lightly with his fist to feel if it was steady or not. He was rewarded with more scratches, louder, quicker, and Five realized something was coming closer.

He only had a second to gasp and grab Six and One to yank them out of the way. The crack on the wall fell through and suddenly a group of the Repair Beasts swarmed inside the library. One was on his feet first and leading Five and Six through the books and away from the Beasts. Nine only heard the echoing sounds as he watched Seven get knocked to the ground. That's when Nine realized the noises were behind him, spun around, and saw the Repair Beasts appearing. He shrieked and fell onto his back.

The only Repair Beast that came in contact with Nine ran clean over him. He watched in shock as all of the Repair Beasts leapt upon the Canine Beast and began to mercilessly attack. The Canine Beast fought back, and managed to destroy a few, but soon its eyes went dim and it fell to the floor, the Beasts permanently shutting it down. He expected the Repair Beasts to attack them now, but, shockingly, the seemed uninterested.

Before he could continue watching, he felt himself yanked back into the books by One. Eight, Seven, Six, and Five were there as well and they all grouped together, moving through the library and not deciding to stop until they were outside. Two, Three, and Four were waiting for the others. The relieved looks on their faces meant that they probably heard what had happened inside. That was when Eight spoke up, "What in the hell was that?!"

One turned quickly, "Eight, language." He corrected abruptly before turning to Two. "You were not attacked?" The Inventor shook his head, "No. We got out just before we heard the noises. What happened?" Five now blurted out what happened, "Those Repair Beasts from before broke through the wall and attacked the Canine Beast!" He wasn't thinking or he would have realized that Two hadn't been there to see the repairing machines earlier.

"The Beast would have hurt us." Six explained, relatively calm and completely sure, "It doesn't want it to hurt us. It wants us to go to it." It only somewhat occurred to Nine that Six was talking about the Fabrication Machine and was interrupted by Seven. "Either way, this means that the Machine must be luring Beasts here, or creating more." Two spoke up, fixing the generator on his back, "I am sure it is calling them, making them come to assist its healing."

"No." Six suddenly insisted, "It knows it's threatened. It's not like before. There's only part of the control left, and-." Apparently Eight suddenly decided to release that pent-up annoyance on Six. "Listen, Freak. We're having a real hard time dealing with this; we don't have time to listen to you speaking in tongues." He scolded with a growl and a glare. Six looked taken aback and saddened while Seven beat everyone to saying something.

"Leave him alone, Eight." The Warrior defended, "You're just upset because that Beast pinned you and there was nothing you could do about it." Even though Eight was willing to defend himself no matter what, he simply grimaced at Seven; He had decided at a young age to not fight with females or children. That's why he wasn't impatient with the twins and refused to argue with Seven. It didn't fix how upset Six obviously was, though.

"Look," Nine started, "We're all just… A little… A little…" Five chimed up, "Stressed?" Nine nodded, "Yeah. We're just stressed. There's something different going on, but we should still act like it is acting the same as before." One also spoke, "Nine is completely right. The Machine could very well being trying to make us feel comfortable so that we will believe we are safe. We all know very well that it is more than intelligent enough to know how our emotions work and how to toy with them."

Once he saw that everyone was unnerved, he continued, "There is something a bit different, yes. Though I am assuming that the Machine has grown desperate and is trying these methods as such." Looking back at the striped one, he noticed the male staring pitifully at the ground, obviously upset from being reprimanded. As such, the leader began to direct, "Six, come walk with Two and I. I do not… Trust you to be alone." With that he sent a prominent discouraging look to Eight who followed up by looking a bit ashamed, because he was caught.

Six complied and came to stand being One and Two. "We must continue onwards. We have wasted too much time as it is." One explained, and continued to press onwards. As such, they began to walk once again, heading out into the Emptiness. Seven didn't get over her annoyance, though, and voiced it to Nine and Five. "I just wish he wouldn't do this to Six. He only does it because Six can't fight back." Five nodded in agreement and Nine looked over to Six, "He seems really upset."

Then Five pointed out something he noticed, "Six was upset when he was with One and I. Maybe Eight isn't the only thing bothering him?" That's when Nine stiffened, "Do you think he's seen something?" Five looked horrified and Seven looked hesitant, "He would have said something." Nine reluctantly nodded and pretended to shrug the thoughts off. "Five and One are right, we're just a little scared, but this isn't going to be like last time." He reassured her.

While she smiled and he returned it, he didn't return the feelings of sureness. In fact, underneath the smile, he felt more scared than he ever had in his life. Here they were, once again getting thrown into a fight against something much larger and much more powerful than them. The risk that someone would get hurt was so great that even Nine was predicting it. He couldn't deny that the Canine Beast and Repair Beasts had opened his eyes. That was the most grueling thing he had seen, yet he knew it was only going to get worse.

For now, all they could do was walk.

* * *

**Mable: Nice place to end the chapter. I like to wrap them up at about 3,000 words and leave the rest for the next chapter. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter; chapter three shall be up tomorrow!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Endless Odyssey

**Mable: Chapter Three is here! I would like to thank Skye who has been first to review. :) Reviews feed me and keep the story going; thank you, Friend! Anyway, I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls run Deep**_

_Chapter Three: The Endless Odyssey_

It was very uncomfortable. Between the heat of the high sun and the constant walking, none of the Stitchpunks were feeling up to par to fight with the Machine at the present. With the pressing time, One pushed them to keep walking, but eventually Two started to falter. The heavy generator began to weight him down enough that he was obviously stumbling. "Let us stop for a bit, One." He insisted, "Coming upon the Machine's doorstep weary will not help us in any way."

One looked back at him and was ready to shoot this idea down. His thoughts changed as he saw how labored Two looked and with an annoyed scoff he agreed, "Fine. A few minutes will not kill us." Eight decided to speak up, "It could if that thing wakes up and comes after us." He soon realized that One absolutely hadn't wanted to hear his opinion and promptly went quiet, instead deciding to welcome the brief rest.

Two sat himself down in the shade cast from a wall that now stood alone and began to rest. He tried to cover his panting, pitifully, not wanting the others to know exactly how tired he was. "You should stop doing this to yourself." The Inventor glanced over to see that the Leader now stood nearby and was approaching to sit down. Once he did, he continued, "You need to stop acting like you are as young as the others. They know you are not, you know you are not."

He was met with a playful smile, "Oh, I don't know that." One's optics narrowed, "You had your legs replaced. Whether or not you believe you are old, you cannot deny that you should be taking a bit more care of yourself." Slowly Two's optics wandered to watch the others, "I am, One, but I do not want to be worthless. I needed to do something." He looked forward at the twins who were curiously watching Six draw in the dirt. The Artist looked up and smiled for the first time in quite some time, so the twins smiled, so Two smiled as well.

"So that is what this is about?" One asked almost curiously while still determined to retrieve the truth, "You feeling as though you are without worth?" Two chuckled, "You are putting words in my mouth." One crossed his arms, "No, you said worthless. You cannot deny it." The Inventor looked over tiredly, "I said I did not want to be worthless, not that I thought I was worthless. If you noticed, I helped little during our last incident with the Machine."

"Yes, that was exactly what I thought when I was present at your funeral." One retorted in an attempt to make a point. The point was made and Two's smile lowered to a gentler and reassuring one, "I do not plan to let that happen again. I still need to carry my side end of the load." He looked back towards the twins, only to feel the leader touching the generator. "It is quite heavy. If it comes to pass, I will take my own end; I will carry it." Then turned to the twins, staring ahead as well, and neither speaking.

"Of course, carrying it would injure my health. I am sure Eight could carry it." With that, Two suddenly began to laugh in bellows, and suddenly both felt a lot better. Meanwhile, the others were still resting on their own. Nine decided to approach Six out of curiosity and looked down to see his drawing. It caused him to shiver as he realized it was the Fabrication Machine. "Six? Are you okay?" The Artist looked up with a smile, "I'm fine." Nine sat down beside Six, "Drawing the Machine?"

The Artist shook his head, "No. It just got into the picture." That was an odd response, considering the fact that it was the picture, but Nine didn't continue. There was no point in upsetting Six anymore. Before he could find something else to do, One stood, "That should be long enough." Seven seemed confused, "We've only been stopped for two or three minutes." He was insistent, "That is more than enough time. The Machine is not much farther ahead."

The rest of the Stitchpunks drug themselves onto their feet and followed as before.

* * *

"But it was here earlier!"

That one sentence summed this entire event. Five pitifully blurting it out as he started at the empty lot where the Machine was supposed to be. Nine's optics followed the drag marks and oil drippings that suggested the Fabrication Machine had begun to move itself. That's when Seven pointed out the obvious question, "Where was it going?" She asked the others without much of a response, "It isn't like it can return to the factory."

"No." Two began, with a sigh, "But it knows of the next best thing." He glanced to One, "Do you think it knows of the mines?" The leader clutched his staff tighter as he glared at the empty space, "Of course it does. It was most likely in control of the mines before the humans were all killed." Now Nine perked and looked back from Two to One, "What are the mines?" Two turned around, lugging the generator, and explained.

"Many years ago, the humans made a series of nearby mines to mine minerals that were, eventually, used in assisting the Machine's overtaking of the world. It is not much of a factory, but it would be enough if the Machine starts to work. It can create something terrible out of close to nothing." Five turned to him, discouraged, "Is it like the factory?" One answered, "No, it's underground." This didn't help much, and Eight pointed out the obvious, "We could get trapped down there with it." Finishing with, "I'm not going down there."

"We don't know." Two insisted, "Perhaps we are simply overreacting. The mines are not as close as One and I are insisting; it may have not even made it there yet." Seven visibly grasped her spear tighter and voiced a plan, "I can be faster alone. I'll run ahead and try to slow it down so we can-." Immediately there were protesting voices, trying to convince her not to go alone. "It could get you!" Six cried, "And he can't help you then!" As with him, Nine spoke up, "We should really stay together, Seven."

"And if it gets there before us?" The Warrior questioned quietly. One was the one to answer her, "If it does, then so be it. As long as we continue moving we should arrive at a steady pace." Two agreed, "Yes, it _is_ dragging itself, and our legs are working to a certain degree. We should be able to arrive shortly after it does." He then added, softly, "Unless, of course, it is already there." Perhaps nobody heard him, because nobody said anything and instead began to follow the twins who started to walk in a direction, as though they had seen a map.

Though, they probably had previously, and the others began to again continue walking onward. It seemed that the journey would never end, and, unfortunately, none of them expected a pleasant one.

* * *

The walk was uneventful until about an hour later. The heat was growing unbearable and eventually something would have to give. Unfortunately, from the way Three was walking, it looked like it was her.

The others began to notice that she was stumbling only a few minutes beforehand. She started to slow down, move in weird patterns, and even her sister began to notice before she suddenly went headfirst into the dirt. Four looked horrified and kneeled down beside her sister, hugging her tightly. Five, being the healer, dashed up first and began to look her over. Flipping her onto her back he listened to her chest before feeling the female's cheeks. "She's just a bit overheated and tired."

He pulled Three's hood back to allow her to have some air easier. Then he slid his hands underneath the small female's legs and began to lift her. Two came up to also check on her, but agreed with Five's prognosis. "I could carry Three." Nine suggested, but Five looked pretty confident, "Thanks, but I'd feel safer holding her, so that I can feel if she gets any hotter." He was somewhat able to shield Three from the sun while Four lovingly fanned her sister in an attempt to cool her.

They continued to walk again, but the situation left Seven unnerved, and she confronted One, "One, we can't keep walking in this heat. I can go ahead and slow the Machine down, but the others need rest." The leader was determined not to let her leave. "If we stop, you stop. We either continue going or stop." The pale Stitchpunk glared at the slanted optics glaring at him. The heat only infuriated the two even more and it took Two getting between them for them to back down. "Please, you two, you are just making it-!"

A dull rumble alerted everyone in the group and Eight raised his knife, "What was that?" Six was the one to answer, walking up beside Nine, "Coming to get us." Then he turned to Nine, "You should hide." Nine was confused, but soon could hear the noise louder. It was the sound of hundreds of thuds and noises touching the ground, like hundreds of legs. That's when it first came into sight, far ahead, kicking up dust as it crossed the empty section of the Emptiness that they were currently passing through.

The few bits of rubble it easily slid around couldn't even slow it. It was a long body in segments with what looked like hundreds of small, sharp legs. Seven and Eight went to rush ahead, but the Beast plowed through them without hesitation. The Centipede Beast wanted one thing in particular, its sharp jaws in front opening and closing desperately. That's when Nine realized it was coming straight towards him. Five, who was in front of him, grabbed Four's wrist and leapt out of the way, still shielding Three from the creature.

Then, before the creature could touch Nine, Six jumped in front of him. It was an odd event when suddenly the Centipede Beast's head was thrown to the side, like it had been pushed, and its body continued to move in a different direction completely. Promptly after, Six grasped his head with a cry of pain and crumpled to the ground. Before Nine could help, the Beast managed to circle around, and he felt himself get shoved in another direction by Eight who then grabbed up Six over his shoulder and began to move out of the way.

He kept his knife out and waited until the Beast passed before bringing it down upon the Centipede's side, managing to take off a surprisingly flimsy leg. It didn't even seem to care and perhaps didn't even feel a thing as it tried to turn itself around again. "What is it doing?" Seven asked Two as it spread through the group once again and the Inventor shook his head, "I have no idea! It doesn't even look made to attack!" The Warrior huffed and ran forward to leap on its back.

The armor was surprisingly slick and left oil on Seven's pale fabric. As she tried to stab in her spear seemed to slide off in different directions, not assisting a thing, and after one sharp turn she was thrown off of it and nearly trampled under the hundreds of legs if not for Eight, still carrying Six, who reached in and yanked her out from around the waist. Before the Beast tried to circle around once again, it decided to leave, and began heading back in the direction it came from.

It wasn't until they saw the back of its tail that they realized it wasn't planning to simply flee. Its tail just ended abruptly with a few odd protrusions. They looked like four metal spikes that suddenly open and released sharp barbs and what looked like a net of thick, oil covered thread. Nine only had a second to react before the net dropped over him. The barbs were, apparently, still connected to the Centipede by wires, and it began to drag Nine behind itself.

The burlap one tried to use his Lightstaff to break the net and failed. He was almost drug off completely when someone leapt upon him. He soon realized that it was, shockingly, One who had been closest to the Centipede. One certainly looked like he was struggling to hang on as the net drug over the ground. He even rolled once; causing his crown to get trapped between his and Nine's bodies. It was sharp against One's chest and he suddenly got an idea.

He grabbed it up and began attempting to use his precious item to slice the slick rope. After a few seconds of sawing he managed to cut open a big enough hole that Nine could climb out. The two fell from the net, rolled a bit on the dirt, and ended with Nine lying sprawled on top of One. He was soon pushed off harshly and One stood to his feet. Nine leapt up as well as the leader continued, "So my suspicions were confirmed. It was coming for one of us."

"When did you say that?" Seven chimed in, having now been able to catch up, and soon the others arrived as well. Eight had finally put Six down and the Artist turned to Nine, looking tired but now standing, "They want you. It came to take you away." This seemed to show reveal exactly what Nine was beginning to believe. It made him feel scared and One looked to him with a hint of concern, "It might remember what you did to shut it down and may see you as the highest threat."

The other Stitchpunks all looked to Nine solemnly, seemingly agreeing, and Nine felt obligated to speak. "Should we… Split up?" Two crossed and rested a hand on Nine's shoulder, "Of course not! It simply means that we need to keep a close eye on you." He smiled pleasantly and comfortingly. That's when Seven looked to One, "It's building beasts. That means that it has reached the mine, doesn't it?"

One closed his optics and nodded, "It does. I cannot fathom how it arrived so quickly." Five thought briefly, "Maybe it had some of the Repair Beasts help move it. They do move quickly." He pulled Three closer and noticed the younger female's optics opening, "Three's awake." He announced to the others, rather boldly for the shy Stitchpunk, and looked down at Three. "How are you feeling?" She couldn't speak, but she smiled a little bit like she was feeling positively.

Four hugged a bit on her sister and Five smiled wider, "Her temperature is still a little high, so I'm going to carry her a little longer." The others seemed fine with it. Slowly they began to walk once again, and decided not to speak about any of their fears. Time began to tick by once again and soon the sun began to shift its gaze just a bit. Right when the heat began to ease was when One offered allowed them to stop once again to rest.

There was a little grass growing in the area, dusty and thin, but grass none the less, so it felt a little more natural and comforting. The small amount of obscureness made them feel a bit more confident. Five tried to sit Three down on the ground, but the female was a little scared and refused to leave the buttoned one's side, much to her sister and Five's confusion. Eight stood guard by One, but was eyeing Six who was, instead of trying to rest, pacing back in forth in almost a determined fashion. His brow was furrowed and he kept looking at his hands oddly.

While One and Two began speaking and Seven kept guard, Nine went to sit down beside Five. He looked down at Three who was cuddling into Five's chest, "How is Three?" The healer seemed confident, "She's alright. I think she's just tired." Then looked over at his friend, "How… How are you?" The burlap one hid any fear, "Actually, I am relieved that it wants me and not all of you. I can hide easier and not have to worry that anyone else will be hurt." Five didn't look pleased at this statement, but accepted it.

"Just… Nine… Please, be careful." He insisted, looking down at Three who noticed his upset tone and nuzzled into his buttons, still high in temperature and a bit delusional perhaps. Six's words could be heard and Nine looked over, listening. "Why did it happen again? Am… Am I doing it?" The zippered male was tempted to go ask him what was occurring, and even began to stood, but was interrupted by Four tapping on his shoulder. He looked over with a smile, "Need something, Four?"

The twin looked distressed and pointed back at something through the grass. Nine stood cautiously and approached the tuft before looking through. At first, he didn't notice anything, but then saw it when he looked up at the sky. It looked almost a mile away, but the sky was filled with darkness and Nine knew it was too early to be evening falling and too dark to be storm clouds.

He soon realized that it was clearly a thick cloud of dark smoke; Naturally pouring straight out of the maw of some sort of factory. They were at the mines.

* * *

**Mable: Maybe a shorter chapter than last time, but I had to finish the walking/travelling in one go. ^-^ Next chapter will be up tomorrow, on the dot. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Incoming Doom

**Mable: Already at Chapter Four. Goodness me; feels great to be writing again! ^-^ I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls run Deep**_

_Chapter Four: The Incoming Doom_

They all knew what was coming as the stared at the black smoke that slowly moved closer and stretched farther across the sky. "I guess we can assume that the mines have been completely reverted into a factory for building Machines." Two pointed out solemnly, "They can retrieve all they need from inside those minds." Six spoke up suddenly, "They know that." Then he looked up to the sky to stare at the sky's transformation.

Then he stopped abruptly and began to back up until he ended up running into Eight's front. The male glared and pushed him away, "Watch it." Six blinked a bit before pointing up towards his explanation in the darkened sky, and the others eventually followed his pointing finger to reveal something hovering about high above the ground. It was obviously one of the Fabrication Machine's beasts that were used to monitor for any outside disturbances.

There was only one, so they assumed there weren't that many Machines outside of the Mines. This though was soon proven completely inaccurate as they approached the valley, looking down the slope that led down to the Cliffside where the mining facility resided. There were small Repair Beasts everywhere, more than they could count, at least three more Chancellor Beasts, and everyone was staring forward at what could turn into a battleground.

"We can't get in without being seen." Seven then insisted, "It would be smarter to try an offensive approach, but more dangerous as well." One scoffed at this, "And completely foolish!" Seven retorted back, "Then what do you suggest we do? Hide out here until it comes for us?" The leader glared sharper than usual, "No, of course not. I am simply asking for us to come up with a rational plan. A feat you cannot accomplish on your own."

"Please, you two!" Two spoke up loudly as he was at the end of his patience, "Stop acting like children! You two are _not _children!" With that, everyone went quiet, and they all began to stare at Two in surprise. Two wasn't one to abruptly lose his temper. He slowly looked over at the other Stitchpunks, scanning them without saying a word, and then he cleared his throat, "Now then, we need a real plan." That's when Five raised a hand shyly, perhaps scared of Two now, before voicing his suggestion.

"There's- uh- There's a small building over there against the cliff. Over there." He pointed to it, a small building against the cliff about thirty feet away from the mine factory. "Maybe it is connected to the mine?" Two nodded in agreement, "Yes, very good, Five! It may be an extra exit or entrance in case the mines collapse. Some of us could enter that safer location and the rest could attempt to go in through the front." One eyed the surroundings, "If we stayed low to the ground and camouflaged, we would be able to get through the front unseen."

Seven was the one who saw the nearby bit of metal sticking out of the ground and Eight was the one able to lift it and hold it above him. One also was insistent on coming with the two. Soon, Nine added in his own thoughts, "I should probably come too. If the Machine is after me, I don't want to lure it the safe way." The others agreed, and then the last person spoke up. "I need to come." It was Six who spoke up and now everyone was a bit hesitant.

"He's not coming." Eight insisted, letting the metal plate fall to the side. "He'll just blow our cover. We can't take the risk, Boss." While everyone didn't share this opinion, the others did think Six entering the more dangerous route was a mistake. "Six, Sweetheart." Seven started carefully, "It could be dangerous." Six was insistent, "I have to see him." Nine exhaled, "Six, I know you feel guilty about not predicting the Machine awakening sooner, but you don't have to do this."

Six had this weird look, like he thought everyone was insane, and then spoke up. "I have to see him. I have to make sure the cord is cut. An eye for an eye." Nobody was willing to say exactly how weird that sounded, but Eight certainly gave a facial indication. Eventually One gave in, "Fine. _Fine. _Nine, Seven, Eight, Six, we will head down to the mine's main entrance. Two will lead Five and the twins through that other building." At this, Two chimed up, "Are you sure you don't want to trade with Five? We could send in a flush hand."

He chuckled as the others looked confused, save One who knew what he meant and huffed, "Yes, amusing." Then he turned away, "Eight, lift that back up, we are heading inside." The Guard did so and One moved in front of Eight, close enough so that he was under the metal. Six, Seven, and Nine also moved in to hide, but then none of them moved, as One didn't move. "One?" Nine asked, and the leader turned to Two, "Your group moves first." Two chuckled again, shaking his head, and then began to make an arching loop towards the building.

Five and the twins followed as the separate group under the metal plate began to move forward. Thankfully, the Repair Beasts didn't notice, and even when the light of the Chancellor Beast was cast over them, they went undetected. Soon they approached the gaping entrance and One began to notice something. "Do you find something odd about this?" He asked before glaring at Eight, "Stop breathing down my neck!" Nine came up beside One, "What is it?" The leader gestured to the entrance, "The entrance is open and clear."

"And?" Nine asked and One looked to him, "And? The Machine used to keep all the entrances on tight guard and now it is allowing us to waltz inside." He looked around in paranoia, "It must have known we were coming and wants to beckon us inside." Seven pulled out from under the metal piece, "I'll make a distraction." Then began to dash off, getting seen by a few Repair Beasts and followed. There was something else moving across the ceiling that followed as well, but only Six caught a glimpse of it, and only saw a bright mess of red eyes.

Meanwhile, Two, Five, and the Twins headed to the other side of the small building where a small vent rested and Five used a pair of shears he had in his pack to pry the vent off. Once there was a small entrance, he held it open to let the twins and Two into the vent, then slipped in after them. The vent was hot and full of strong smelling fumes. Three wasn't completely healed, and soon, going through the vent, she began to falter once again. Four attempted to hold her up before Five once again had to carry her.

"It's not much longer." Two insisted, "The vents will be hotter than inside." Going through the vents, it led down into the mines, through the building as though it wasn't even there. Right before the vent let out, it dipped in a sudden downwards angle and Two slid downward, sliding to the side and almost hitting the side of the vent. At the bottom he was faced with the other grate, and an even stronger smell, one that caused him to cough and sputter in discomfort. Before he could stop the others, they slid down as well.

Now they were all regretting coming down this route, but were unable to turn back at this point. Five managed to wedge the vent open and they looked into the next chamber. It was immediately obvious what the smell was coming from as along the entire floor was large vats of odd liquid that was quite dark, but not oil. They climbed down from the vent, Five catching the twins and assisting Two, and began to weave through the vats, trying their hardest to ignore the repulsive scent.

Back with One and Nine, they were still heading through the depths of the mining factory. They had managed to get to where the actual mines began and were horrified at what was inside them. "It's a nest!" One whispered in alarm as he saw the hundreds of Beasts that nearly lined the walls, odd Repair Beasts that had drills on their underside and were slowly expanding the walls of the cave. "Think it's down there?" Eight asked and One ducked back, "Again, do not breathe down the back of my neck, and I do not believe that it would move into the Cliffside."

He gestured for the others, "We will try to find the passage to the other building to retrieve the others. We will need Two to attack the machine." At that second, immediately, a loud noise echoed through the mines. Looking up, the Stitchpunks could see one of the Chancellor Beasts, so high up in the roof of the mines that it wasn't noticed, releasing the noise as an alarm. "Cover blown!" Eight announced and threw the metal down to unsheathe his knife. "Run!" One commanded, turned, and began to run the narrow corridor that led in the direction of the other building.

Eight was right behind, and Nine began to tail when he heard a cry. Looking back, he was shocked to see Six in the grasp of the Beast, the Beast that Six saw earlier. Its body was spherical and covered in many eyes and had at least ten metal tentacles coming from its lower half, each ended with a sharp claw. One of the thick, corded tentacles was wrapped around Six's frame, the claw now clutching his neck in a threatening matter.

With a flash of growing anger, Nine ran towards the Tentacle Beast, angrily breaking the closest of the eyes by stabbing it with the bottom point of his staff. The thin glass broke and oil splattered out upon Six and Nine. The Beast roared before using Six like a club and hitting his body into Nine's and sending the Stitchpunk onto his hands and knees. More of the tentacles slid out to grab the burlap one who managed to stand and leap at Six's frame, pulling on the tentacle that tried to shake him off.

He pulled it down enough that Six managed to move his arms up and, while a tentacle wrapped around Nine's ankle and yanked him away, Six was able to pry to bonds away enough that he slid out, then finished by yanking at the claw until it gave. Once he got to the floor, Nine also managed to get free and both ran desperately after where One had gone, the Tentacle Beast following from behind. The narrow corridor broke into an odd room full of pipes, and Nine noticed a nearby ledge with a pathway for Beasts on it.

He looked around and could see that there were paths all above the ground on pipes and connecting cords, made so that the Beasts could move quickly. "I have an idea." He quickly explained and gestured to a pile of metal on top of a grate, "Six, quick, climb up on that, onto that pipe and cross to the other side. I'll distract the Beast and climb over afterwards." The Artist seemed hesitant, but did as told. He climbed onto the stack of metal parts and scrambled up onto the low pipe.

The Tentacle Beast appeared and Nine distracted it by shining his Lightstaff around and running back and forth. Six tried to keep his balance as he slowly crossed the pipe to the opposite wall where he dropped onto the small ledge and hid in the entrance to a tunnel. "I'm here!" Nine looked up at him before turning to climb on the metal stack. He got a running start and leapt upon it, only to vanish.

Six watched in surprise as the grate underneath the metal reacted to Nine's slightly heavier weight and opened, dropping the metal and Nine. Six didn't know what to do at first, but then turned around and dashed off to catch up with One and Eight.

The second the alarm went off, the vats began to boil, and steam filled the room. If it was hot before it was now scorching and Two was searching for an exit as quick as possible. He was soon directed to a tunnel in the nearby wall. It was scratched up like beasts had been moving in and out vigorously, so he expected it was a way out. "We have to get up there." Two pointed out and Five followed his gaze to the wall, immediately coming up with a plan and getting out his harpoon.

The inside of the tunnel looked softer, perhaps from the steam on the wall of loose concrete, and Five fired a harpoon, connected to a long thread at the wall. Still, it took a few tries until he was able to pull back and not have the needle follow. Two knew what he was planning and helped Five tie the rope down on what looked like a handle on top of the other vat. They couldn't swim across the liquid and then try to climb as the liquid, although perhaps not threatening, was now boiling and impossible to swim over.

Two swallowed and spoke, "I will go first." Five was hesitant and grabbed his arm, "Two, don't." The Inventor pulled his arm back, patting Five's hand, "I will be fine. My legs are my weakness, but my arms are fine." He crossed to the thread and tugged on it a little bit. It held, so he pulled himself up with his arms and wrapped his legs around the thick thread. Slowly he began to almost crawl upwards, towards the opening. As he went overtop the boiling brew he felt a bit dizzy from the scent, but still managed to push onwards.

Eventually he released his leg's grasp and dropped the short distance before landing on the bottom of the tunnel. He panted, pulling himself together, and waved a signal to the others. Next, Four began to cross and soon Three. Four got across to the other side and dropped into Two's grasp while Five began to climb on the thread. Soon he realized that Three, who was up ahead, wasn't moving any longer, and then noticed the other was right in the center of the steam.

It was just a feeling, but Five suspected that the previously ill Three had not recovered and was again growing weak. He could see his grip loosening and quickly crawled over Three. "I've got you." He said as soothingly as possible what with the hot steam making him feel lightheaded. "Okay, hold onto me, I'll get us across." The smaller Stitchpunk nearly collapsed against his front and wrapped her arms around the Healer's frame. Five helped carry Three the rest of the way and didn't feel relieved until they made it safely.

Three refused to let go of Five in the tunnel, so the healer simply pet the librarian's back gently. Two did the same to his apprentice, "Now, let us continue and we should be able to- Ah!" He cried out and jumped back in alarm when he spun around to see none other than One standing right before him. "One! You scared me half to death!" One was unfazed, "You heard the alarm, did you not?" The Inventor nodded, "I expected it. We nearly walked straight in."

"No, we _did _walk straight in." One corrected, "They allowed us to freely come in and then set the alarm upon us. I have no idea why it was not activated sooner." Two looked behind him and saw who was behind him, "Where's…?" One interrupted, "Seven ran off on her own, naturally, and both Nine and Six fell behind." Two looked past him again, "I think you are a bit mistaken. Six is running up right now."

Eight spun around just in time to dodge the Artist who looked like he couldn't stop it he wanted to. "One-Two-…." He broke off too pant before pointing back, "He… He wants… And Nine…" The Leader huffed, "Spit it out, Six!" Six managed to get his thoughts together, "Nine dropped into somewhere!" The guard perked, "It was that weird stack of metal, wasn't it? I knew that thing was going to fall! Remember Boss? That's exactly why I climbed up." The leader ignored him and stared at Six before Five spoke up, "So… Where is Nine now?"

Two looked down, "Well… He must still be nearby… I am sure he is just-." Six dropped his head into his hands abruptly, letting out a moan of pure torture, and Two turned to him. "Six?" Six shook his head before speaking.

"He's with _it_."

* * *

Nine expected he was only knocked out for a second when his head struck a hard piece of metal. Sitting up, he realized part of his body was laying in something thick and cold, and looked down to see the floor covered with a thick black liquid, "Oil?" He then looked around and could see the metal scraps from before, along with piles of metal that reached a little above his head. He heard the sound of metal movement before he looked and saw what was overtaking the room.

He slipped between the metal and looked up near the roof of the large cavern, only to see it hanging on a makeshift connector. The Fabrication Machine was awake and building while Nine was trapped in its chamber. Nine felt the heat getting to him and began to pant in fear before looking around for his Lightstaff. He saw it nearby and grabbed it, lifting it up, and only feeling horror when it struck a piece of metal and made a ridiculously loud noise. He looked over to see the Machine now turning to face him.

He jumped down, hiding behind the metal, and praying that it hadn't seen him.

His prayers were not answered.

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**Mable: Between a rock and a hard place, poor Nine. What shall happen? All to be summed up in the next chapter that will be up tomorrow! I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Machine

**Mable: Chapter Five is here! I won't say much except that I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

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_**Souls run Deep**_

_Chapter Five: The Machine's War_

Nine saw the metal claw come down before him and knew it was trying to corner him. There was no point in running now and Nine simply stayed there in a shocked state until one of the other claws came down and cinched around his body. It was a surprisingly quick gesture. He held his Lightstaff tight in fear as he was lifted and brought up to face the monster he had awoken again. Looking into the large, red optic he knew that it remembered him.

At first, it didn't act right, and simply stared at him. It was even more unnerving than it attempting to kill him and he wondered if it had suddenly gone into a non-functioning stage. Slowly, to not startle it to alertness, Nine brought the Lightstaff up and tried to wedge it between his body and the claw. The second he did, the claw tightened, and he realized it had simply been watching him the entire time. It made him feel wrong and disturbed.

Then, out of nowhere, it suddenly seemed to come back to its senses. Its red eye crackled with electricity and it began to bring Nine closer, down near the Talisman, and Nine knew what was coming. The red was suddenly dyed with green and the Talisman was glowing in preparation to ingest the soul of the Stitchpunk before it. Nine's optics widened in fear and he tried to pry himself out again, kicking at the claw and thrashing pitifully in an attempt to save himself. He knew what was coming and didn't want it to come.

For a second towards the end he felt a small bit of peace. He wasn't sure why, except that it overtook his being, and he could only think that he was relieved it was him and not one of the others. No others were to sacrifice himself, this was the end. The light grew brighter and then there was a crackling noise produced by the machine. Nine closed his optics.

The next thing he felt was something very painful.

It was only after a few seconds when he opened his optics and realized the Fabrication Machine had thrown him against the oil stained ground at the bottom of the chamber. He could clearly see the Machine and watched as it began to act like it had when it awoke, unpredictable and bizarre. It began to claw at itself and violently attack metal scraps and unfinished beasts with its free arms. The makeshift connector that held it to the ceiling eventually failed to hold and it fell to the floor as well.

The rampage continued as the Machine scuttled around throwing anything in its sight. A metal shard nearly smashed into Nine who only barely managed to move out of the way. He stood to his feet and nervously watching its behavior. "_What is it doing?" _He questioned himself as he tried to edge over towards the relatively ignored corner of the chamber, "_I don't think it even knows that I'm here anymore." _Thoughts were interrupted by the sight of movement.

On the other side of the chamber, where the Machine was unleashing its aggression, was a small group of pipes that spilled oil into the room. They were what were obviously causing the room to have such oil stains everywhere. In one of the thin pipes that had less oil coming out, Nine could see a patch of white, and realized it was Seven. She was waving signals to him before beginning to lower some sort of cable down like a makeshift rope.

It occurred to Nine that this was the perfect time to escape, but it was challenged by the fact that the Machine was acting so irrational that Nine worried, in its fit, that it would suddenly decide to do to him what it was doing to everything else in the room. There was no other choice, though, and Nine slowly slipped across the floor as quietly as possible. The Machine was too busy to pay attention to what Nine was doing and didn't see him as he made it to the cord.

The bottom of the cord was dry and away from the puddles. Seven must have done this purposely so that the end wouldn't touch the oil. This was for the end was split, and it was obviously still a live wire by the way it sparked. This concerned Nine, but he followed the cord until it led under the pipe and rose off the ground, then began to climb. Seven was deeper in the pipe, bracing it, and Nine began to slowly make progress upwards.

The oil pouring from the pipe decided to follow down the cord, raining down upon him, and leaving him struggling to hold on. It wasn't pleasant, and was oddly cold compared to the heat in the depth of these mines. He managed to get halfway up the cord, the oil rushing down his face, before he pulled back just for a second. Without the liquid, he was able to hear much better, and thus was able to detect what he couldn't hear anymore.

He looked over and could see the Machine was gone. Immediately he knew where it was, but calmly pretended he didn't so he could slowly continue up the cord. Every small inch left him a little higher, but not safe, and eventually he heard the groan of metal behind him. The groan of an impatient metal contraption. Nine tried to climb faster to no avail and finally gave in to temptation and looked back just in time to have the Machine behind him take a swing at him. While acting strange, it still saw him as its enemy.

Then, suddenly, luck was back in Nine's favor as one of the Machine's claws touched the cord. It was thrown back by the sudden surge and fell dormant, twitching, with its eye convulsing and blinking rapidly. This was a chance Nine had to attack, but he couldn't will himself to stop climbing, and when he arrived at the pipe he began to slip inside the tight squeeze. "Are you okay?" Seven immediately asked, looking him over, "Nine?" He didn't respond at first, staring at the Machine, at its eye.

"I…" He began, then looked to her, "Yeah, I'm fine. Where are the others?" She struggled to turn around, "They should still be in the mine. Let's go." She began to crawl on her hands and knees through the oil, being surprisingly fast, and Nine managed to follow behind. Thankfully, he wasn't afraid of tight spaces, and was more uncomfortable in the mix than anything. It was even worse when it let out in what looked like a pool of oil. Thankfully, the pipe they were in wasn't completely submerged, unlike the others.

That didn't change anything with Nine who completely missed the ledge beside the pipe and ended up nearly sinking to the bottom of the pool. Before his head could go under, Seven grabbed him under the arms and pulled him onto the ledge. He quickly regained footing and followed the determined Seven along.

"We can try blowing up the mines, as with the factory." Two suggested as he stared at their newest find; a large room full of drums of oil and other noxious liquids. The leader was quick to point out the flaw in the plan, "That did not work last time." Still, the Inventor was certain of such, "It is under a cliff in a mine. If there's a large enough explosion, the rocks might cave in and finish it. That is the only chance we have."

"And we have just given up the generator plan?" One asked in retort, but Two was now distressed, "We cannot get that close, yet. We should try the route that is safer first." At this time, Seven and Nine jogged up, and Eight was the first to speak up, "What happened to you two? You both look like… Six." That was, apparently, the only thing he could think of negative when he saw the spots of black. Six, surprisingly, felt a wave of happiness when he heard Eight actually refer to him by his real name.

"I… Well…" Nine began and Seven finished for him, "Nine had a run in with the Machine." Immediately, everyone seemed concerned, and Five approached Nine and rested a hand on the other's cleaner shoulder, "Are you okay?" Nine simply nodded, slowly, but didn't go into detail. Two exhaled calmly, "Well, that means it definitely knows we are here." He turned to One, "Let us just try this before we risk getting any close to it then we have to." Finally, One's gaze softened, and he agreed.

Nine turned to Five and whispered softly, "The Machine was acting different again." Now Six spoke up, "He woke back up? That's good, that's good. He will stop it, he knows how to make it change, he's the reason it's all changed." Now Nine started to listen, "What do you mean, Six?" At this, Two suddenly called to Five. "Could you help me make a trail of oil to use as a fuse, Five? One refuses to touch the oil." Seven snickered at this and received a glare from One who promptly muttered an excuse about oil being hard to clean off.

The zippered one stopped the striped one from wandering off, "Six, I know you know what's going on, and I know it's hard to explain, but you have to tell me what you're trying to say. I know something is different…" He checked to make sure nobody was listening, but they all were helping to make the fuse. "I saw something in the Machine. It got shocked and… I don't know what it was, but I saw something different." The Artist suddenly looked lost as he answered, "An eye for an eye, Nine. An eye for an eye."

He then seemed to get lost on a loop, beginning to repeat the words like he was trying to understand them. It wasn't until Two spoke up that the Stitchpunks managed to pull themselves out of the conversation and went to assist him. Two had made a trail that was a good ten or fifteen feet from the barrels. "We're relatively close to the entrance." Two explained, "Once I light this, we need to run as fast as possible. We should be close enough to the entrance, by time the explosion goes off, that at worst we will be shoved outside."

"Right before the stampeding beasts overrun us." One pointed out, but then exhaled calmly, "Yes, it seems well enough." Five decided to take this time to speak to Three, "If you don't think you can run, I can carry you." Three looked at Five before looking down almost hesitantly, and finished by reaching up towards the Healer in an innocent way. Five lifted her in response, everyone braced themselves, and yet Nine couldn't stop this nagging feeling telling him that he had seen something.

Then, the next thing he knew, everyone was running, and he was following along with them, asking no questions and only knowing that they had seconds before their lives were in danger again. Some of the Repair Beasts began flooding in, but went ignored, especially after the shuddering explosion. In a heartbeat, fire was overtaking the factory, and suddenly a barrel flew by and landed some feet before them. It was definitely a sign that they were in danger, but not as much as when the ceiling groaned and with a loud cracking noise started to cave in.

"Keep running! We are almost out!" One called back only for a piece of the ceiling to suddenly fall to the floor. This time, everyone didn't get out unscathed. Eight only had a second before he felt the heavy weight fall upon his back and struck the floor. He struggled to push himself up, but couldn't and only the last few Stitchpunks noticed his plight. Two immediately ran to Eight's side and, even though he was taught to be strong and take things on his own, he couldn't tell Two to save himself.

The Inventor struggled to pull up the cement slab until his knees were shaking, but couldn't get it to move off of him. Six was the other to run up, but was just staring at the two in shock, before slowly whispering something to himself quickly. It was right when Six went quiet that Two suddenly felt the cement start to lift a bit. It was only once it lifted out of his hands that he realized he wasn't doing it and looked to Eight who was staring at something else behind him.

Six was trembling like a leaf being blown by the wind, twitching uncontrollably with his optics dilated past the normal point. Then, suddenly, the slab pushed back, and Six grabbed his head before dropping to the ground. From the way he fell it was obvious that he was completely unconscious. Thankfully, though, Two looked back to see Eight was now free. The Inventor went to pick up the Artist, but the Guard managed to stop him and do it himself. He grabbed up the small Stitchpunk before barreling through the flames after the others.

More fire, more explosions, but they managed to get out as predicted. Thankfully, the Beasts seemed to have either all entered the mines or fled. They managed to get some ways away before the noises from inside began to get more violent. Nine stopped and spun to face the factory, walking backwards a bit unsurely, "Those don't sound normal." As Eight passed, still carrying Six, he retorted quickly, "Nothing in there is normal." Gestured back quickly and continued past him.

Two stopped alongside Nine and glanced to him, "Well, we made it!" He said with a smile and the burlap Stitchpunk noticed the forced look. "Is something wrong?" the zippered one asked softly, and Two responded, "I believe we are having that same feeling that usually comes with noises that are obviously not caused by explosions coming from factories." He had noticed it too, and the two waited.

It wasn't long before it appeared, as predicted, but Five still let out a cry of aghast as he saw it. The rest just watched in terror, save One who began trying to get the others to run, "We must escape! The plan has failed!" Nine could only stare at that large red eye that was focused on him and only him. "An eye for an eye…" He murmured to himself before suddenly realizing that, once again, Six had been trying to tell him something. "Destroy the parts inside, but making a way inside would be… An eye… The eye!"

His sudden outburst shocked the others and he turned to Two, "I saw something inside the eye and Six was talking about it- The Source- maybe there's a-a wire of a part or something that we can get to past the eye. We break the eye, we destroy whatever is inside, and it will die for good. That's all we have to do." That's when he realized the others were staring at him like they all stared at Six earlier. One turned on him, "Absolutely not! That will be handing ourselves over to it!"

"Well maybe I should!" Nine retorted, not realize that the words were taken in a completely different context. "Oh Nine, no." Two protested, "It is alright, Nine, you don't want this. We will find a way." The zippered one blinked, "What?" Five continued, "Please, Nine, hurting yourself won't help us!" Nine suddenly huffed, "No, I didn't mean it like that." Even One's voice softened, "Even if you think suicide is an option, it is not." Nine sputtered, "I'm not going to kill myself! I just meant that- We have a way to destroy it! Has Six ever been wrong?"

Nine knew that if he asked if he himself had ever been wrong that he'd immediately be met with rebuffs. However, they all knew that Six's visions were accurate, and since the incident they took his rambling much more seriously. Seven stepped around the others, "Alright, Nine. We'll try it. What's the plan?" Nine pulled back, "The plan is…" He then felt resolve, "I awoke it, I shut it down. You all just try to live." He then spun around and began to dash back to the machine. He could hear Eight call, "Easier said than done!"

Five followed Nine, even though One called for him not to and struggled to keep the Healer with the group. Five was determined not to let his best friend fail. Soon, the rest started to follow, and the only ones not approaching the machine was One, who had a grip on Two and was trying to get him not to leave, and the twins who knew they could not fight. Even Eight ran down there, though obviously being a little defenseless as he still had Six carelessly thrown over his shoulder. Thankfully, the Artist began to awaken, so Eight swung him down and put him up on his feet.

"Whatever you did earlier," Eight began as he eyed Nine who was now dodging the Machine's claws coming down to attack him, "Do it again. You need to do it again." Eight made very sure to sound strict, but not cruel, so that Six wouldn't get upset and outright refuse. Six certainly did look exhausted as he stood there, "What I… What I did?" It seemed to come to him in a second, but then was replaced with horrible fear when he saw the Machine, "It's here! We must help him, now, someone must cut the cord!"

Eight put his hands up in defense, glad that Nine was somewhat distracting the beast. "I know, we'll do that. You just figure out what you did and do it again." A siren lit up the battlefield and Eight looked up to see the Chancellor Beast from before, "Five, get that thing!" He had heard from One that Five knew how to handle these Beasts. Five did, too, and shot a harpoon right into its eye before pulling, to pull the Chancellor down.

Eight ran over and grabbed onto Five before stabbing his knife into the ground, holding on and reeling the Chancellor in. Slowly the two managed to get better footing and Eight began to yank downwards. The sharp, sudden tugs seemed to disorient the Beast who soon began to sputter out of control. "You got a knife or anything?" Eight demanded quickly and Five reached back into his bag. He managed to pull out the pair of shears from before and Eight promptly threw them right into the blimp body, releasing the air and causing the Beast to fall from the sky.

Nine knew this was a foolish idea being this close to the Machine, but he had to try something. Seven was running back and forth distracting the Machine until it finally snapped, ignoring Nine and bringing a claw down upon her. She let out a cry of pain before the claw tightened and began to lift her. The eye went pure green and the Talisman was reacting. "No!" Nine shrieked and tried to get the Talisman out. It wouldn't respond, it wasn't going to budge.

Six focused upon the Machine, inspired by Eight and Five's efforts to take the Chancellor downwards, and did as he had before with the slab. The Machine suddenly moved like it was shoved, releasing Seven in the sudden hit, and Six felt his head pulse in agony. Once again his knees buckled, but this time he was able to keep from going unconscious. Seeing the incident, as Eight had been watching Six and Five did so out of curiosity, the two ran up beside him. The healer helping him up and Eight glancing back at the Machine protectively.

This was when Two broke from One, deciding to attempt the original plan all over again, and began to run down the slope, "It might still work!" One called after him, "You said it would not!" But Two was persistent, "I must try! I cannot watch as the others give their lives!" The twins tried to run after him, but One managed to catch them both, "No, no! You two stay right here!" As soon as he got them to stop moving he followed after Two, in a desperate attempt to regain some control.

The Fabrication Machine was going back for Seven who tried to limp out of the way, but having difficulty from an injured leg, most likely landing on it wrong. Nine rushed after her to push her forward and help her out of the way as the Machine bore down upon them. It's eye dyed green as Nine looked back at it and he knew exactly what it wanted.

Before it could do a thing, its optic began to shutter, it began to move oddly, and hit the ground as though injured. Only then did Nine notice that Two used Nine and Seven as a distraction, having used this to shock the Machine with the weak generator's copper cords. The Inventor called out, "It won't stay down long! Nine, you must retrieve the Talisman!" Nine immediately sprang into action, dashing to the machine and trying to get the Talisman out, and it finally responded.

In a second he turned it against the Machine, there was a bright light, and soon it was all over. They all stared at the remnants afterwards, already laying down when being hit, and Nine let a small smile slip through. It was over; they had survived this time. Soon Two was laughing and the twins were dancing, Five was smiling and One was yelling unpleasant things at the Machine's body, Seven smiled to Nine and he somewhat shrugged, he looked past and noticed Eight looking tired, and then noticed Six. Six didn't look pleased. He just stared forward mechanically.

He didn't address it then as One almost immediately ushered them all together, "Even with it destroyed, the other Beasts still roam freely, and will be certain to hunt at night. We need to begin our trip home as soon as possible." Two countered this, "Come now, One, we're celebrating." One huffed, "We do not have much luck when 'celebrating'. Or perhaps you have forgotten the incident at the Phonograph." A few began to slowly sober a bit, but Two merely chuckled, "Or perhaps _you _have forgotten that I was not there."

Surprisingly the leader didn't continue and the others obeyed into beginning the trip home. Two and Five helped Seven walk while One took the lead. It was a long trip and it wasn't until they were nearly home that they rested briefly. This was when Nine noticed that Six hadn't begun to recover. If anything, he was acting even more bizarre, and Nine approached him out of concern, "Six? What's wrong?"

Six began to murmur different comments, such as 'an eye for an eye' and 'need to cut it', but then actually looked to Nine. He looked surprisingly distraught as he spoke, "It's not over. It'll come back." Nine shook his head and put his hand on the Artist's shoulder, "Six… We stopped it. It won't come-." Six interrupted him, "We didn't destroy it, we _stopped _it. That means it can _start_ again. We needed to cut the cord; and we haven't done more that stop it for a bit."

Nine looked down at him. Slowly he began to get a feeling of dread as he connected the dots. 'An eye for an eye'; something really had been in the eye, and Nine was supposed to cut it to destroy the machine. Unlike what Nine had thought, trying to find alternate routes, this was the only way to completely stop it.

Six was right; they hadn't done a thing. It could still wake back up.

* * *

**Mable: Because everyone only partially listens to Six, and even Six is fed up with it. :)… But, wait a minute, the Machine isn't dead? That doesn't sound pleasant... Ah, next chapter up tomorrow, who knows where this is going to go next. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	6. Chapter 6: The Terrifying Source

**Mable: Chapter Six…. Things are about to get- You know; I'm not going to say anything. I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

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_**Souls run Deep**_

_Chapter Six: The Terrifying Source_

It was once they got back to the library that Nine started to put together that maybe he needed to go back and finish the job. He decided he needed to do it alone, watching how tired the others were, and knowing that they probably couldn't make the trip. Seven was resting her leg by sitting on a book near the bottom of the bucket lift, Four and Three were cuddled up together between her and Five, Eight was pulling down the bucket lift, Six was tiredly sitting on the floor, and One and Two were busy speaking about something that Nine wasn't paying attention to.

Nine knew he needed to let it go, let what he feared go, but he couldn't do it. Finally he straightened, clutched his Lightstaff tight, and announced, "I think I'm going to go for a walk around the Library." Most of the others, save Eight and the twins, looked to him in confusion. Maybe they thought that he needed some time alone as none of them protested. In fact, One spoke up, "Be careful and do not stray far." Two seemed to send One an approving look at the comment and Nine turned to leave.

"Goodbye Nine." That was Six's voice and Nine assumed that the Artist knew where he was going. Which was fine, because at least someone knew that he was preparing to fix his mistake, and thus he started off alone. He pretended to simply walk deeper into the library before taking a sudden turn and heading towards the entrance. He knew it would be quite a walk, but he couldn't rest until he made sure it wouldn't come back.

The others moved into the bucket lift and entered the Sanctuary. By now Seven was walking without limping and turned to Five who was managing to juggle both of the twins by carrying the still weak Three in his arms and Four on his back. "Need help?" He shook his head, "No, I got it." He smiled reassuringly and began to head back towards the twins' room, pushing through the curtain and laying each small Stitchpunk on their respective beds. Seven decided to simply head to her own room at this point.

When Five went to actually leave the room, he was stopped by panicked flashes of light, and turned back to see that Three was sitting up in her bed. Five smiled at her, "Hey." He whispered soft enough that Four couldn't hear, coming closer to the smaller Stitchpunk who looked upset, "Are you feeling better?" Three nodded slowly, but still looked upset about something, so Five reached out and pet the younger's head in a friendly manner. The younger reacted with a small smile and seemed to finally ease a bit.

This seemed to dissipate the second that the Healer stood to leave. Five didn't notice the flashes, bright and pleading, until he arrived at the doorway and turned back to see Three. Once again, Three looked distressed, and her eyes locked onto the burlap one with a very noticeable frown. Five put the pieces together that Three was afraid to be alone after the overheating. "It's okay. I'll be right outside of the door." He reached through the curtain and knocked on the outside wall to prove it, "Get some rest." Three smiled again and laid back onto the bed.

Meanwhile, Two nearly threw the generator to the floor and left it in the throne room, "I will work with it tomorrow." He reassured before heading straight to his own room. "I must sit for a few seconds." One didn't like the way he swayed and glanced back to Eight, "You are dismissed for the evening. Do as you wish." Then followed straight after Two, who decided to ignore going to his own room in the back of the workshop and simply collapsed on the medial cot.

One huffed a bit, but merely threw a thin blanket over him before going to check the twins. He nearly collided with Five as he exited the room. "Careful." One warned quickly and Five nodded, "Sorry." The leader peered past the curtain to see the two in bed and deemed them in fine condition before turning to the Healer, "I will be retiring to my quarters. If Nine does not return in the hour, awaken me." Five didn't nod to confirm this because he wasn't really sure that he wanted to wake the leader up with how temperamental he could get.

"I'll… I'll keep an eye out." This comment seemed to confuse One, and Five soon realized that it was because of the pun that he did not mean to say. He actually laughed a little at it, "I guess I sort of do have to keep _an_ eye out." The leader exhaled slowly, tiredly, and nodded, "Very well. Make sure he does not stay out all night." With that, the leader turned and stalked into his room, shutting the curtain behind him as to punctuate that he wanted to be alone.

Unlike the others, Six had went straight to his room as soon as he stepped off of the bucket lift, head still pounding, and was trying to figure out what he had been doing. It wasn't the first time the he had begun to move things by simply looking at them the wrong way; it had been happening on and off for his entire life. This was the first time he had actually been purposely doing so, though, and it scared him that he was moving more than just an ink well closer to him. It was hurting him as well, but slowly it seemed like the headaches had recovered faster, or at least became more manageable quicker.

It was the second that he got to his bed and pulled down the covers, willing to risk nightmares for a good night's sleep, that there was someone at his door. He recognized the footsteps as soon as they stepped into the entranceway. "Six." Eight spoke up, "We have to talk." This seemed bad, because Eight never wanted to talk when he bullied, so this could amount to something more terrible that he was forced to discuss. "We need to talk about what you were doing back there." Terrible reared its ugly head at those words.

"I don't…" Six tried to desperately come up with an excuse not to talk about it, but Eight was stubborn. "Look, I don't know what you were doing back there," He began, "But whatever it was, we could use it." Six didn't like when the word 'we' came into play. "I don't think you know what you actually did." Eight persisted and Six exhaled, "I moved things." The Guard retorted, "You moved things, without touching them, heavy things, that's something useful. Hell, that's something that would scare me, if it wasn't you."

The Artist suddenly felt something odd in his insides and realized it was a sudden thrill from having some sort of control. Then he noticed the 'if it wasn't you'. Then he felt a feeling of dread as he realized that Eight was getting at something. He slowly looked back and could see that smirk from behind him. Eight continued, "You see, Two isn't afraid of anything, and won't tell any of the others what went down. Even Five saw it at the end and thought you threw something. So Two knows, Two's not scared, but what about the others?"

"What about the others?" Six repeated, already having a feeling that he knew what Eight was going to say. "They'd be horrified of you. You're moving things around, nearly crushing them, and it is a threat. It would be only a few minutes before One decided that you would have to go, and the others would agree because they're scared. Of course, Two would try to talk them out of it, but fear would drive them way more than One ever could."

The striped one clutched his key tightly and suddenly wondered if Eight wanted him gone that badly, "You're going to tell them?" Honestly, Six was a little naïve, but mostly because he wasn't as social with the others so he believed that Eight would know more. Now the Guard began to enter what he really wanted, "I should, you know, but that thing you've got going on could help me."

He stepped closer until he towered over the innocent Stitchpunk, "Here's the deal. You use your 'moving' whenever I want you to, and I don't tell the others exactly how dangerous you are." He stuck out his hand, "We got a deal?" Eight never asked about a deal before, and Six wondered if this was just a way for Eight to force Six to obey. He couldn't risk the others hating him, though, and took Eight's hand. As much as the gesture suddenly sent odd sparks into his belly, it also felt could, and he knew he had signed his fate.

Five had no idea of what was going on in the back room and merely waited in the bucket lift after lowering it to the library floor beneath the Sanctuary. He sat there, alone, looking out and waiting for Nine. Soon he began to nod off and progressively began to drift farther into sleep.

* * *

Nine managed to make it back to the Machine's remains, but by now it was late at night. Time ticked by as he hurried through the cold night, the wind blowing hard and feeling like ice against his burlap. The hulking mass that was once an evil, soul stealing Machine was now just a hunk of metal as before. Non-threatening, unmoving, but Nine felt something different. Nine approached the eye of the creature cautiously and tried to peer into the darkness, leaving his staff out against one of its worthless arms.

He soon saw something that stood out and perked up. In the back a mass of wire led from inside a missing section of metal to back in the empty cavity section of the Machine's optic. Nine reached down and grabbed the light staff, lifting it so that he could see into the dark opening. He followed the mess of cords to whatever was at the end. Honestly, he expected them to double over and loop back, which would make them easier to cut. Instead, he was soon in shock to see they ended in a figure.

It was pulled into itself against the back wall, like it was in the fetal position, and it looked dark. He could see well with the dim light and tried to lean in farther. It was obviously the shape of a Stitchpunk and Nine suddenly became overly curious. His voice broke free, "Hello?" He gasped as he saw slight movement, almost like it was waking up, and he tried to step up to climb in. It was another Stitchpunk, and he couldn't believe it. "Are you okay?"

It was the second that he stood in the broken optic, upon where the lens once stood, that he realized something was obviously wrong. The Stitchpunk moved mechanically as it swung itself forward, falling onto its hands and knees. It briefly paused there and Nine was horrified to see that it was not covered in dark fabric, but covered in dark metal. There were some bits of fabric across its frame, but they looked soaked with oil, and the burlap one suddenly began to wonder if he had made a terrible mistake.

Something pulled out from the cords and lowered down to the ground, metal arms and claws, like the Machine's. It used these to crawl closer to Nine who finally made a move to get back away from the creature. He wasn't paying attention and fell out of the metal exterior, onto the unforgiving ground. It came above him leaning outside the optic, and its eyes opened to reveal the same horrific red. It was worse than seeing that Machine awake again. This thing was unknown and disturbing.

Nine could also clearly see a Talisman port on its chest and trembled. He could only thank everything that he had left it at the library. This didn't help the fact that this creature was now coming at him. It abruptly reached for him with its own Stitchpunk-like arm, a claw hand that looked almost like a twisted version of One's grasping for him, and Nine jumped into action. With a near scream of horror, Nine rolled out of the creature's grasp, and stumbled to his feet to run. He couldn't think straight or of anything but the creature he had seen.

It only grew worse when he had looked back and saw that it was right behind him. It was like it was crawling on the ground, the machine arms scrambling to move it forward, and those red optics trained right on Nine's. It didn't look like it was struggling in the slightest and he knew that he couldn't outrun it. He still attempted to do so and managed to get up the slope and dashed away from the mines.

It seemed like a blur of running when he was eventually brought to the present as he remembered that the way home led him through an empty area, and that he couldn't run the entire way. Instead, he looked and soon saw something off the path. He quickly dashed in the direction of it, hoping he could hide. He could still hear it some ways away, though perhaps falling behind, when the road went abruptly downwards. He hadn't been paying enough attention and tumbled head over heels down a slope into a pit of rubble.

The area wasn't empty, as he guessed, but wasn't filled with anything pleasant. Buildings that didn't even stand anymore and multiple bodies of humans that had been deceased for quite some time littered the area. The only positive fact was that when Nine looked back he couldn't see the creature and assumed he had somewhat lost it behind. That didn't mean it would be gone long so he quickly sought out somewhere to hide.

He noticed a nearby helmet and flashed to a memory of when he was told about how the others had once hidden under a helmet during the war. It seemed like a fair hiding spot. Nine hid under it as he heard rubble falling down the slope from the creature approaching after having finally catching up. Unfortunately, the ground was wet and the dirt was loose underneath him, but Nine didn't exactly mind getting filthy if it meant avoiding what the thing was hunting him.

The burlap one listened as he angled his light staff in the helmet with him, managing to keep his grasp on it the entire time, and yet shut it off to not draw any attention. He could hear light movement and pushed himself to the back of the helmet. The second he did so, something reached under the helmet behind him and grabbed at his back. Nine let out a cry and scuttled onto his back where he managed to slide under the other side of the helmet.

The second his upper half came out, he was suddenly met with the other staring at him, so close, too close. It had been purposely trying to get him to escape this way to trap him. Before it could grab him, Nine shoved his light staff forward, and as it was yanked so it alit, causing the creature to wince back at the sudden bright light. Nine scrambled back, letting out short cries and gasps of fear as the creature recovered and followed him. Eventually Nine turned over and tried to get to his feet only to have a claw latch to his foot.

It didn't hurt, but the grip was firm, and he was drug back. He could hear a noise coming from it, like a mixture of a metallic groan and a crackling noise, along with something that smelled like it had been burnt. In a second of fear and determination, Nine threw his light staff back and struck the creature in the chest. He could see a wave of electricity crackle over its optics and he could remember how the Fabrication Machine would get angry and do so.

The Lightstaff was yanked out of his hands and cast aside before one of the Beast-like arms came down to cinch around his neck. Nine started up in horror as the creature moved in further, red eyes locked upon him, and then, suddenly…

It collapsed.

Nine watched it land beside him, going completely limp, and saw its eyes dim before closing. At first he was afraid to move, but reached up and tugged the beast arm off of his neck, then moved out from under it. Immediately he calculated which way was back to the Sanctuary and began to make a dash. He soon realized he left his staff behind and begrudgingly found that he couldn't leave it. Unfortunately, he knew that wasn't the only reason that he was turning back.

The creature never moved after it collapsed and Nine approached it with his staff. Carefully, curiously, and quickly nudged it with the staff. It didn't respond. "_Is it dead?" _Nine asked himself in confusion, _"Did it… Just die? Like that?" _The thought made him feel oddly bad. He didn't like to think he killed something, even if it was some sort of Machine. It lay there unmoving long enough that Nine was willing to finally crouch down and touch its metal exterior. It was warm.

"_Is this what Six wanted me to see?" _He had a suspicion that it was the case with the coincidences stacking up. If this was true, Nine realized that maybe this was important, and toyed with what he could do. He soon realized where he needed to go, the closest 'safe' location, the first room. There were answers there before; there would be answers there once again. After some time to contemplate the situation a bit more he also decided that he couldn't leave the creature behind.

Slowly Nine maneuvered one of its normal arms, he wouldn't dare touch the ones that looked Machine-like, over his shoulders and stood in an attempt to move the creature. When that didn't work, he found himself practically having to pull it on his back, and it was quite heavy. This worked easier, though, so he decided to continue onwards. _"This is a mistake. This is foolish! I'm just going to get everyone hurt __**again**__!" _He knew that this all connected somehow so he wasn't able to give in, but was pleased when he realized that he was the only life in danger.

"_There has to be something about this in the first room. Notes or a blueprint of the Machine or… Or something. Anything." _The desperate thoughts didn't seem to calm Nine down though. He had the horrible dreading feeling that something would go wrong.

He had no idea what he responsibility he had overtaken.

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**Mable: … The Chapter is sort of self-explanatory. I don't have anything really to say. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed, next chapter up tomorrow!**


	7. Chapter 7: The Healing Attempt

**Mable: Here is lucky number seven! Or, lucky chapter seven. ^-^ I don't own 9, enjoy!**

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_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Seven: The Healing Attempt_

It was morning by time Nine had managed to reach the Library. On the way back he had discarded the idea of going to the first room, mostly from exhaustion, and realized that he needed to warn the others before he would travel anywhere else. It was a chore to climb over the mountains of books while nearly dragging the heavy Stitchpunk resembling creature and the second he got near the bucket lift he nearly collapsed on the floor, letting the creature roll onto the hard ground, and desperately caught his breath.

A night without sleep after a fight like that was doing terrible things to Nine's body, but his mind was somehow still intact completely, and he knew if he was going to get time to check the first room that he would need someone to watch what he had found and perhaps a few minutes of rest. He was nearly falling asleep as he turned onto his back and stared at the Library's roof high above. The windows were streaming in warm morning sun and were nearly golden. Even though being entirely filled with rubble, the Emptiness did manage to create beautiful mornings.

This was all changed the second that Nine noticed a red glint out of the corner of his optic. He glanced over to see that the creature's crimson eyes were open once again and locked onto Nine's frame. The zippered one paused and briefly waited to see the other react. It did not, it simply stared him down, before eventually its optics closed as before. The event made Nine feel uneasy and managed to give him enough energy that he got back up, determined to take the creature to the only Stitchpunk he could trust.

Luckily, Five was asleep in the bucket lift, and Nine decided to accept the luck without questioning it. He looked back at the creature still lying on the ground one final time before approaching the Healer. He crouched down and shook the other's shoulder, "Five?" Five came too awfully slowly, but did manage to eventually awaken. "Nine?" He looked around, "How long have I been asleep?" Nine shrugged, "I don't know. I just got back." The healer noticed that something was wrong with Nine who exhaled.

"Five, I need your help." His friend seemed to plead before continuing, "I did something…" He didn't blame Five for looking suddenly uneasy; Nine wasn't exactly known to act this way when he had done something productive. As Nine started to stand, Five stopped him, "Did you get hurt?" he was relieved when the zippered one shook his head, "No, I'm alright, but…. But I want… I found something." He looked back in the direction of where he left the creature before correcting himself, "I found someone."

He suddenly realized how foolish it was to bring this creature, the thing that attacked him, back to the Sanctuary. Though Nine couldn't argue with the fact that leaving it to die would've been cruel, and there was surely something different about this creature. Five immediately perked up at Nine's words, "Someone? Out there?" The one eyed one climbed to his feet, fixing his bag that still rested on his back, "Are they okay?" Nine looked down hesitantly, "It's a long story. Don't be surprised, but it's… Don't be surprised."

Nine didn't know exactly what to describe the creature as and led Five the short distance away to the creature on the group. "That's it." He gestured to it and Five approached before suddenly crying out in alarm and stumbling back. Out of reflex, he grabbed out his needle harpoon, and Nine rushed forward to push it downwards. "Five, it's okay! It can't hurt you!" Five stuttered as he stared at it, "What… What is it?" Nine looked at it with a sigh, "Injured, I think. I don't know."

Five paused before shaking his head, "No. I-I couldn't. Nine I don't think…" Nine was desperate, "Five, please. I think it might be on the verge of… I think it's going to die…" Five stared at Nine and seemed to slowly ease, lowering his weapon, as he trusted that Nine wouldn't bring something dangerous to him. "Where did you find it?" The healer asked and his friend responded, "The Fabrication Machine." Five rubbed his head, "Okay… What was it doing at the machine?"

Nine shook his head, "No. _In _the machine. It came out and…." He paused, "It collapsed." He decided it wasn't wise to mention that it had chased him around and yet Nine had brought it back still. "I wanted to check the First Room to see if I could find something on it, but I had to come back, I'm exhausted, it's nearly dead, and- and I don't know what to do." That was the true fact. Nine was scared and confused; he didn't know what he could do.

The buttoned one now stared at the creature, the zippered one stared to, and finally they both approached. In hadn't opened its optics again and Five touched its outside cautiously, "It's warm…" Nine nodded, "I know. I thought because it looked like a machine it would be cold too." At this Five corrected, "It's too warm. I think it might be overheating… That could be from the stress of an injury." He went into medic mode as he looked over every inch of its frame, "Did it say anything? Move at all?"

"No." Nine said quickly, "Well… A little, before it collapsed… But nothing too extreme." This was a blunt lie, but he did remember something, "It started making this weird crackling noise, but it was coming from its mouth and its chest, I think." Five thought for a second, "It sounds like a damaged voice box. Sometimes if they're damaged, and they try to talk, it will make strange noises." He looked at the front, "This should come off." He gestured to the port as he went into his bag for a tool to address the bolts, "Then I can see the real damage."

He then paused as Nine had, "Actually, we should probably move it upstairs. The workshop would be- Wait, why does it have a Talisman slot?!" Five suddenly seemed to break out of the Healer Trance and looked to Nine for answers. The zippered one could only shrug and the buttoned one calmed down again, "Okay… Maybe we should… Let's at least move it onto a book of something." Nine agreed and the two struggled to lift it and move it onto a nearby book. It was quite a bit easier than when Nine did it alone, thankfully.

Once there, Five went into his bag, and Nine looked to the creature. He decided that warning Five of its eyes being opened again would startled him, so instead he tried to somewhat communicate with it, touching its arm as he would to comfort another. It looked up to him with an unreadable look, staring, before it slowly began to close them again. It was like it once again ran out of energy until it shut down. A few seconds later, Five addressed the front again, and began to work the port free.

It was connected to the creature's insides by cords so it wasn't able to be completely removed, but the second Five looked in he got a look of dread, "I…I can't do this…" Nine placed a hand on his back, "It's okay Five. The Talisman is on the other side of the library." The healer reached inside, "Nine…" he lifted some sort of small, melted piece of metal, "Look at this." Nine looked in deeper, pulling his Lightstaff over to brighten the insides, and could see more of a melted mess around a relatively stable inner metal frame, one that remarkably resembled a Stitchpunk's.

"What's all this melted section?" He asked and his friend shook his head, "It's the voice box. It's completely melted and…" He looked over at Nine, "We need to get Two. This is serious. I can't… I don't know how I can fix this." Before Nine could protest, Five was leaving to get his mentor, and the other male huffed. This was a mistake. This had all been a mistake to bring the thing back, to go back out, but now it was Nine's responsibility and his alone.

Five had nearly fell when stumbling over the generator and running into the workshop, "Two!" Two jutted up off of the medical cot, beginning to panic from his apprentice's tone, "Five! Calm down! What is it?! Was someone hurt?!" Five pointed back to the door, "Nine found someone, down in the library, we need your help!" Two was up in seconds, nearly running for the door, and was obviously both equally concerned and excited. Apparently the prospect of having a new Stitchpunk was irresistible.

Of course, all of this running was waking One, but Two pointedly ignored him, so Five decided to as well. They were soon heading down the bucket lift and Nine tiredly watched them, hoping Two's reaction would be stable. When Two did approach he stopped in alarm, and Nine went to calm him, but was soon relieved to see that the Inventor was able to keep his calm in this situation. He slowly crossed to the creature, calmly, and yet a bit curious. "Goodness me…"

He murmured as he looked into the creature, "I've never seen anything… this damaged." Nine looked down at the ground, "Is it… Savable?" Two nodded, smiling a bit to reassure him, and peered inside. "Of course. It- excuse me- he will just need work." Nine perked at this, "It's not like a beast? It actually has a gender?" Two answered intelligently, "Stitchpunks have changes to their frame whether female or male. See such, it is obvious that it is male…" Then he muttered, "And these inner works suggest it isn't a beast."

"What?" Nine and Five's voices, though both different, managed to hold the same surprised tone. The sudden burst caused the two to look at each other in confusion before Nine continued, "I knew it looked a bit like a Stitchpunk, but… But, are you sure?" Honestly all he could think of was the extra arms, which must have slid into its back at some time, and it hunting him down. Two was positive, "The metal on the outside is certainly made from a Machine, but the inner is the same as Stitchpunk's, even the hands show it."

He lifted one and examined the fingers, "Odd. They seem to be older than One's by their style. This pattern was not used after One was finished, but I'd say the metals suggest he must be younger, they're quite unused, and this voice box..." He soon went into working on the creature's insides, mumbling his findings, aided by Five, and Nine watched pathetically. Seconds ticked by as Nine's exhaustion began to take over and he found himself close to falling asleep.

Apparently Two noticed, "Why don't you get some rest?" He offered gently, "He's stable for now and you look exhausted." Nine numbly agreed with a mumble and stood to wander to the bucket lift. While Five and Two both slept through most of the night, Nine hadn't slept at all, and decided to just lay down in the lift as Five had, drifting off once again.

* * *

"Get up." Six felt himself getting prodded and began to awaken slowly. He was exhausted still and looked up to see Eight over him again. "Come on, before the others get up." The Artist remembered their deal and slowly climbed out of bed before stumbling after the Guard towards his room. Unfortunately, it was the first night of real sleep that Six had gotten in a long time, so he had needed more of it. Eight was determined and pushed open his bedroom curtain to let him inside.

Six looked around the room and saw exactly what he expected to see; a large room filled with many kinds of sharp weapons that looked ready to slice Six in half. The Artist looked around before turning back to Eight who was closing the curtain, "What… What do you need me to do?" Eight eyed him, "Nothing, yet, just want to exactly what you _can _do." Six had the suspicion that maybe Eight just brought him here as an excuse to wake him up, ergo to torture him more, and the striped one passively looked to the floor.

"Move the sharpening rock." Eight commanded, and Six directed his mismatched optics to the heavy sharpening stone leaning on the wall. "Where?" The Guard glared, "I don't care where, just move it." Six nodded solemnly and tried to focus. Slowly he began to make it work, finding it easier if he lifted his hands to direct the focus. The pain was there, but much less than before, and he managed to move the sharpening stone by somewhat dragging it across the floor.

"Can you lift it?" Eight tested and Six suddenly felt a small pang of pride as he realized the Guard actually sounded interested. As such, the Artist went to bring the stone up, but accidently gave too much and watched as it struck the ceiling. A wave of pain hit Six's head and he clutched it as the stone fell useless to the floor. Echoing pain passed through and he looked over to see that Eight wasn't paying attention. He hoped Eight saw some of it, at least, but Eight was staring at the curtain. "Did you… Did you…?"

"Yeah, I saw." Eight spoke, "Someone just ran by… Doesn't matter." He turned back to Six, "Why'd you stop?" The striped one wove his fingers into his thick yarn hair, "It makes my head hurt." The Guard wasn't exactly patient and huffed, "So when does it stop?" Before Six could really come up with an answer, Eight turned back around, and now Six could clearly hear footsteps running by. "What's going on?" he asked meekly.

"Nine's probably back and trying to bail before One gets ahold of him." Eight then began to come forward, looking down at Six, and then looking at the stone. "Keep going." Six nodded and lifted his arms when the curtain suddenly opened.

"What is going on in here?" One demanded, looking at the scene with suspicion. It was an odd scene too; Eight standing too close to Six for comfort and Six with his jutting out. Eight suddenly got this look of dread, "I… Heard all the running, came to check on Six." One glared, "This is _your _room." The Guard continued, "That's why I was checking on him." Suddenly the leader seemed uninterested, "Fine, yes, we will discuss this later. For now we must figure out what is occurring. Come."

He left the room and both of the Stitchpunks looked at each other. Eight went serious again, "Go do whatever you do during the day. I'll get you later." He exited the room behind his leader and Six softly exhaled in relief. One, meanwhile, stormed into the back first, somewhat suspecting this involved Two and went to search him out, "Two?" He searched through the workshop, no Two. "Two?!" He searched through his room, no Two. "_Two!" _

By time he got back into the hall, Seven was standing awake, though looked to have been awake for a while, "What are you yelling about now?" The leader huffed, "Something is amiss. The first sign is Two disappearing; this is a reoccurring fact." He began to check through all of the rooms, even peering past Seven which got him a glare, and eventually denoted that Two had to be down in the library. He hurried into his room to grab his cape, crown, and staff.

A few minutes later, One returned, and led Eight to the bucket lift. At this time Six scurried out of Eight's room and towards his own, which Seven noticed and didn't comment upon. Once in the throne room, Eight began to pull up the bucket lift, and as soon as it came in sight One did a double take. "Is that Nine?" He asked, looking into the lift. Indeed, it was Nine, asleep in the lift, and even Eight looked a bit confused.

As soon as it rose to the top they were able to get a better look at Nine who was simply sleeping. Eight nudged him with his foot, "Hey." Surprisingly Nine began to come to rather quickly and looked up in confusion. Nine spoke up, "Umm… Good morning?" The leader scrutinized him, "What exactly are you doing?" Nine immediately leapt to his, his thoughts returning and him finally realizing that the others were most likely wanting to see where Five and Two went, and attempted to stall.

"I was- checking the lift. It works, so I'm going back down, excuse me." Nine started to turn the crank before either of the other Stitchpunks could speak. Or perhaps neither was willing to climb into the lift with Nine acting so insane inside. Once at the bottom, Nine immediately dashed over to the others, "One's coming down and…" He suddenly noticed something else on the book, a strange stack of random parts and bits. "Where did those come from?"

Two, who was barely concerned on One coming down to see them, proudly revealed, "I found all of this earlier. All in the Library as well! You would be so surprised at how many useful things are here that we simply haven't found!" Nine looked to Five who sort of gave a lop-sided smile, and then looked back to Two. "About One…" Two waved it off, "One will eventually see him. There's no chance of hiding him so we would be better off not trying to, so One doesn't begin to feel paranoid about us."

The lift rose and soon began to lower once again. Nine could see that Seven also came along with the twins and felt even more claustrophobic. Since Two was going through his parts on the book, Nine felt it needed that he would stand right before the creature and block it off. The last thing he wanted was One to be yelling at him about being a fool. Before One could even step out, Three beat him to it, and dashed over to Five before locking onto him. The healer was a little taken aback, but then held Three, "It's… It's okay."

The other Stitchpunks approached and immediately turned their attention to Nine who must have not realized that he stood with his arms open as though he was obviously guarding something. Of course, he dropped them immediately, and Nine found himself now smiling like an idiot. "Hello." He greeted and promptly after One got straight to the point, "What are you three hiding?" The younger male played innocent, "Hiding what? We're not hiding anything, at all, we're just… Standing here and talking."

That was the second when all three of the others suddenly looked behind Nine horrified. Nine spun back to see their attention was on the creature who Two drew attention to by beginning to work once again. "Two!" Nine scolded lightly and the Inventor was briefly taken aback before explaining, "Oh, I found a something that may work as a voice box, I was just going to put it in. I also found a piece of a mirror, this metal part, I might be able to use it as a hammer, I also found another bulb for a Light Staff-."

"Good Lord!" One announced as he stared at the creature lying across the medical cot. Apparently Two wasn't paying attention to where he was looking, "Yes, I completely agree! I had no idea there was so many useful items just in the library!" By now both Eight and Seven were grabbing for their weapons, One had his staff gripped tightly, and Two went forward to calm them. Nine, though, panicked yet again and threw his hands up, "No, wait!"

Thankfully the others did not gain on him and instead seemed to want to know, as soon as possible, whether it was dangerous or not. "What is it?" One demanded, eyeing the creature with unease and suspicion, "And why did you bring it to the sanctuary? It could kill us!"

"No, it's not- I mean- Two!" Nine tried desperately and Two quickly explained, "He may look like a beast but I can reassure you that it has the insides of a Stitchpunk. I'm sure Father created him." Nine nodded vigorously in agreeing, and the others still seemed to be hesitant to accept it as being harmless. "It has a Talisman receptor, Nine! It could very well be part of the Fabrication Machine!" One decided to add and Nine decided to not reveal where he found the creature, or how.

"He's injured and he's… responding, a little. He's not a Machine; he's not with the Machines. Ask Six, he knows it too!" There were mixed reactions to this. One was still skeptic, Seven seemed to calm a bit, and Eight immediately spun around to possibly seek out Six. The twins' reactions were always the same; Four hiding in the lift and Three hiding against Five. Nine decided to explain what had convinced him to bring it in the first place.

"I just had this feeling and I couldn't just leave it to die. Nothing deserves to die alone in the Emptiness." Silence followed him. One studied Nine but said nothing, the reaction being one that confused, but relieved, Nine. When the twins began to move forward, or Four moved forward and Three peered over at it, Nine decided to warn them, remembering his first meeting with the creature, "I don't know how he's going to be when he awakens." Nine explained, "He might be confused so he might be… It might be best if…"

Seven caught the signal and spoke to the twins, "Three, Four, let's give him some time to sleep for now. We'll be able to see him later." Four headed right to her side while it took some convincing from Five to get Three to follow. "It's alright; I'm just going to help Two. I'll be with you in a little while." Three seemed to reluctantly agree and sulked off after her sister. Seven looked back to Nine and gave him a look of acceptance, though Nine was sure he also saw that 'I hope you know what you're doing' look and smiled at it.

She smiled as well and put her arms around the twins to lead them into the Library to find something for them to do. One was still watching Nine and finally spoke, "Fine then." Nine perked in response, "One, I…" One raised his hand, "I am only accepting this, not because I trust _your _judgment, but because I trust _Two's _judgment." He then glanced to Two who nodded and Nine suspected they had been speaking through looks while he was paying attention to Seven and the twins.

Nine knew that One consulted in Two numerous times in the past and knew that, truly, Two was one of the only Stitchpunks who One would trust with this. Two must have known this as well. One began to leave, glaring at the creature on the medical cot, "However, if it begins to show the behavior of a Beast, I will have no choice but to treat it as such." With that threat in place, he was gone, stalking over into the books and most likely waiting for Eight to return.

Nine fell down in a crouch, falling back against the book that the creature was laying on, and Two mimicked the same action by falling into sitting on top of the book, "Well, that was quite eventful. At least we are all in the same mindset now." The zippered one looked over at him, "What if he changes his mind?" The Inventor chuckled, "He only does that when absolutely necessary. If you haven't noticed, he's quite stubborn, so he will probably stay with this agreement for quite some time."

This seemed good enough, but Nine began to think of other things, of the First Room. He would have to go get answers, soon. Two interrupted his thoughts, "Let's move him upstairs into the workshop. Nine, feel free to get some rest now. We can handle him." Nine accepted this, ventured into the sanctuary by way of the bucket lift with the three, and then entered the room he shared with Five. He collapsed onto the bed and allowed his optics to close, falling immediately into a dreamless sleep.

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**Mable: The next chapter will be up tomorrow, as soon as I wake. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	8. Chapter 8: The Struggling Trials

**Mable: Chapter Eight is here! I don't have much to say, and I don't own 9, so enjoy!**

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_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Eight: The Struggling Trials_

Two only got a second to catch the creature's optics opening before chaos erupted upon Five and himself.

The sound of scuffling and movement caused Nine to awaken. He wasn't sure how long he was asleep, but managed to get to his feet quickly and rush into the workshop. The second he burst in his optics locked with Five's optic for a brief second in questioning when he was suddenly answered by taking in the entire scene. Five was standing by the workbench, Two was halfway across the room kneeling, and he could clearly see the red optics peering out from under the cot.

"I heard something going on." Nine pointed out and Two spoke calmly, "It was nothing. He just awoke suddenly and is a bit shaken." The zippered one was quite relieved that the creature didn't attack and calmed down as well. The Inventor came closer and kneeled down farther, "It's alright. I know you are confused, but we are here to help you." It moved back, trying to crush itself under the cot farther, and Two exhaled again, "Alright, here, I will back away and give you your space."

He stood up and began to cross the room, shrugging at the others, "I don't want to force myself in too close." He looked to Five with an inviting smile, "How about we go stretch our legs and let him settle down?" The healer was more than willing to do so and turned to Nine who declined the offer "Actually, I think I'm going to stay here a bit." He waited until they had slipped out the door before he attempted to approach.

"Do you… Remember me?" Once Nine got too close its eyes began to crackle with that same electrical current, so Nine immediately got his answer. "Alright, I won't come any closer." He stated and halted on the spot. It seemed to want him gone the second it saw him and, as such, began to come out from under the bed in an intimidating fashion. Nine no longer feared it and instead decided to pointedly move away to show that he was willing to be patient. "I'm just going to leave you alone for a bit."

He didn't really want to do it, but he reluctantly crossed to the door, watching the creature for any reaction that could signal loosening up. It didn't move anymore and continued to only stare him down. Once in the hall he listened, but could not hear it move, and finally shrugged it off before heading back to his room to twiddle about for a while and figure out what to do.

Meanwhile, Five took this time to approach Two on something different. "Two?" The Inventor looked to his apprentice as they entered the lift, "Yes, Five?" The Healer looked to the crank as he spoke, "I… Have you noticed how Three has been acting?" The older male seemed concerned, "Is she still sick?" Five shook his head slowly, "No- Well, I don't- I don't think so…. She, well, she hasn't been wanting me to leave her alone. She's acting like she's afraid to be alone."

"Perhaps since it was her first time being so ill, she is afraid it will occur again, and is keeping herself close to the one who saved her." This caused Five to shyly smile, "Two, I didn't do much." But Two was adamant, "You took very good care of her." Then he perked more, "Perhaps she is feeling grateful and wants to show you her appreciation?" This seemed like an actual likely idea and Five began to ponder it.

"I will be trying to continue convincing One to stay in his somewhat allowing mood by telling him of our friend's recovery. Maybe you can take this time to spend with Three? I am sure it would make her feel more secure, if that is the case, and we could both use a rest." Five's look of confusion caused Two to chuckle, "One isn't exactly much of a 'rest', but at least keeping him pacified will be easier to deal with."

"Yeah." Five agreed, "Alright, I'll go see Three." He knew the shorter Stitchpunk was able to handle One well and didn't outright concern about it. At the bottom of the lift, the two separated, and Five started to seek out Three and Four, as they were likely together. He soon found them in their cataloguing area, looking across an old, dirty piece of newspaper in an attempt to find something they wanted to save for later viewing.

Seven wasn't present and Five expected that she had wandered off nearby. Before he could look around, Four caught a glimpse of him, and alerted her sister who was in the process of reading an old article. Three looked back and her face lit up in a smile. She clambered to her feet to greet Five with another embrace, to which Five gently returned. He was soon eagerly accepted into their work, led by his hand which Three held tight, and showed the newspaper article.

He knew immediately why the twins wanted it. Instead of an article about war, it was an older article depicting the building of a park that was probably somewhere in the dilapidated city of Luxembourg. Though Five honestly couldn't understand the humans' directions, the picture, even in black and white, was quite pleasant, and Three's optics flashed as she began to explain all she knew. Five couldn't really understand everything, but he caught quite a few of her hand gestures and was able to put together that she especially liked the flowers.

Four was trying to use an old, rusty, much too large pair of scissors to cut the article out and Five decided to pitch in, "I… I could help, if you want. Here." Thankfully, he had started carrying around his small pair of medical scissors. Still big enough that he had to use two hands, but small enough that he wasn't lugging them around. The twins both lit up happily at the suggestion and Five carefully began to cut the article out.

"You know, it has been a while since the poison went down, and some of the grass is growing back. I think maybe the flowers should have grown back somewhat. Maybe I can look through some maps and figure out where it used to be." They both seemed pleased at this prospect, and Three even decided to hug onto Five's back the second he stood from finishing cutting out the article. He chuckled a little and reached back to pet her head when he suddenly realized something a bit odd.

Three and Four were twins who liked the same things, felt the same things, and tended to do the same actions. The fact that Three was hugging him while Four, though smiling, kept distance was a bit out of character. He didn't know for which twin it was though. It soon occurred to him that even when Three released him, she always kept a hand on his hand or arm, yet Four never once touched him.

In fact, the only time they returned to normal was when they went to paste the cut newspaper article into the large book. Three held it while Four spread the sticky glue upon its back, then they both pressed it onto the book evenly. They certainly did work together well. Their optics flashing as they spoke to each other, at one time Four looking back at him, and he somewhat wondered if they were talking about him.

* * *

Six had just followed quietly when Eight had drug him downstairs without saying more than a few words. Now, in the center of the library, Eight began to start circling Six once again. He finally found something of interest. "That book, the thick one, pick it up and throw it as hard as you can." The Artist was hesitant, "What if it hits someone?" Eight glared, "What if someone figures out how much of a freak you are?" With this stringing remark hit Six, he could only accept it and begin to do as the larger male had suggested.

The heavy book pained Six's head greatly, but managed to throw it just the same. He did soon find that his optics started to become unfocused and worried that maybe he was trying too hard. Eight wasn't done, "Now that one and that one. One after another." The Artist looked back, "I don't think I can." The Guard retorted again, "You can, you just won't." Again Six threw another one of the books, then one after it, and the swollen pangs began to only grow.

"And that _thing_," Eight suddenly announced, "You stay away from it. I don't care what it or Nine says, you don't go near it. You got it?" Six looked at him once again, "Who?" Eight glared harder, "You know who." He seemed to almost growl dangerously, obviously upset, "Don't go anywhere near it, got it?" Six stared a bit, "Okay…" Eight nodded, "Good. Can you keep going?" Six didn't respond. "Right, we'll pick this up later.

Suddenly Six felt a challenge and spoke up, "No, I can keep going." He couldn't argue with the pain, but it was enough that he actually got a reaction from the Guard. It was a sudden passing look of being taken aback that was follow by a short look of being impressed. He was actually impressed and that was enough to push Six on. This time, he chose his own target, and went for a relatively smaller book, lifting it. His focus was swaying and he had trouble keeping it up in the air.

It began to start faltering and moving down a bit to which Eight soon noticed. "Keep it up a little longer." Six pressed onwards, as though Eight's commands were more coaxing him, and suddenly Six wondered why Eight was 'using' him in this way. Throwing books about didn't seem like anything that Eight would really want done. He decided that maybe it was to keep him busy, and as his focus slipped so did the book.

It hit the ground so loudly that Six jumped at the sound. He looked back to Eight who regained the look of being unimpressed, "Good enough, for now." He turned away and scanned the area as though to make sure nobody was nearby. "Get some rest and we'll pick this up later." Six suddenly felt comfortable enough to speak, "But.. Umm… Why?" Immediately, this was retorted by a quick glare from Eight, "Because I said so. Our deal isn't over, nowhere near over, so don't think you'll be off the hook anytime soon."

That managed to put Six in his place quickly. No matter why Eight wanted him doing these things, he was stuck to them, and he pitifully watched as Eight walked away. Neither knew that he wasn't the only one watching.

* * *

"It is enough that I am letting it stay here _now. _I will not have you twist my arm and shove me into any other arrangement." One was determined to be difficult, from what Two could clearly see. Sitting on a stray book beside the pool of water located in the Library, One had his arms crossed; letting his staff rest beside him as though it was his own being. The Inventor smiled a bit, "I know you're still exhausted from yesterday, and perhaps a bit grouchy, but you must admit-."

"I," One stood to his feet and turned upon Two in fury, "am _not _grouchy! How dare you accuse me of such! I am simply concerned that something resembling the Machine, which was awake only yesterday, has now been welcomed into our Sanctuary and is allowed to wander freely without being watched!" Two put his hands up in defense, "Now, One, calm down. I did not mean to offend you." The leader took the submissive movement in stride and recoiled a bit, calming some.

"Nine is watching him for the time. I doubt he will leave our new friend completely alone in the near future. Besides, we have no evidence, other than appearance, that this creature is related to the Machine." The leader went to speak and the Inventor spoke up, "Other than a few choice coincidences." One still looked ready to object, but Two insisted, "I swear, One, this is not a mistake. If anything goes wrong I will take full responsibility." One's glare sharpened and his voice lowered, "You certainly will."

After a brief second of silence, One fixed his compositor, "I do not know of you, but I cannot remain down here knowing that it is up there in our home. If I must keep it there then I insist to keep an eye on it. Come." He lifted his staff and led him across the library towards the bucket lift location. Two was somewhat glad to get the other a little more agreeable, but knew that the other was clearly still distressed. Once in the lift, they both stood there doing nothing.

One stared at the crank before he turned to Two, "And you are waiting for?" Two erupted in laughter, nearly toppling over until he managed to fix himself, "I needed that, thank you." After a few seconds, One still didn't move, and Two blinked, "One, I know you can use your arms." The leader let out some displeased mutters under his breath as he reluctantly attended to the crank. Honestly, Two was pleased that one broke down and did it, showing his mood was even enough that he was willing to still act somewhat normal.

Once in the throne room, Two decided to play with One a bit more, and crossed over to the throne before falling into it. Normally One would immediately go into a rage when someone even touched his throne, but One knew the other was trying to rile him and wouldn't give in. Instead he waltzed over in front of the throne and simply gave a firm one to the one relaxing back in his seat. "What do you think you're doing, exactly?"

Two gave that playful grin up at him, "Just resting my legs. You told me to do so more often." He watched as One leaned in closely, "Move." The leader commanded, and Two felt a soft shiver pass through from the close contact. His smile dropped and he let his optics shut as he waited. The leader was completely above Two and he very well knew it, feeling as the other trailed his hand up to take Two's cheek, lifting it only a bit.

He then leaned down and let his mouth ghost Two's cheek as he went to whisper into his audio receptor. Before more that the word 'you' could slip out, they were alerted by the sound of breaking glass. Two sat up a bit and looked past One, "What was that?" One, who was usually the first to dash and find out what occurred, instead rested his hand on Two's chest and pushed softly back onto the throne, "They can handle it." He moved back in, but was stopped again by the sound of a shriek.

* * *

Nine had been listening through the wall as he began to work on his Lightstaff. Using the bulb that Two had found, he managed to replace it and was pleased to see that it no longer cast that dim green last that the last one did. However, he wasn't that pleased, because he was mostly anxious and annoyed from the creature residing in the other room. It had refused his attempt to be kindly and was now completely alone in the next room.

That was, until the sound of breaking glass alerted Nine. He pressed his audio receptor to the wall and listened carefully, only to soon be followed by the sound of some sort of cry. The noise caused Nine to jump, hitting the wall with his head, and nearly dropping his staff. He immediately threw it down onto the bed and went to run out of the room, only to trip and end up falling into the doorframe.

After managing to get himself to his feet, he started towards the workshop, only to be beat by Two who managed to slip inside first. Nine nearly collided with One who was at Two's heels and the two Stitchpunks awkwardly tried to manage around each other. When Two got into the workshop he saw a bizarre scene. The mirror piece he had found earlier was now on the ground, shattered. Though he wasn't sure if the fall had broken it or something else had.

Meanwhile, the metal lined Stitchpunk creature was pressed against the opposite wall. When Nine looked in he realized that it had taken the same position as it had been in the Machine. In the fetal position it was shaking pitifully, red optics staring into nothing, and Two approached it in a caring fashion. Unlike before, it didn't pull away and instead remained unresponsive. Two rocked him like he had done before when Six had a nightmare and hushed him gently.

Nine immediately noticed One's look of horror, but couldn't understand why until One spoke up. "It has the eyes of a beast… You said it was a Stitchpunk!" Since Two was no way able to fight with One, Nine took up the attempt, "It is a Stitchpunk! Two said the inner metals were made by the Scientist!" One stared Nine down, "Its inner metals can be anything you want them to be, but the facts are glaringly obvious! It has the mark of a Machine imprinted on the window into its soul!"

"I can prove it's one of us!" Nine suddenly challenged the leader. He got a look that showed One was accepting this challenge, "Then show us! I see nothing in your hands to prove it!" The zippered one huffed, "I think there might be something in the First Room. I'll go, now, and find something that shows the Scientist had a hand in his creation. If I can find one shred of evidence then you will have to admit he's one of us and we'll just have to work harder with him."

"And if you do not," One finished, "It will be exiled into the Emptiness and you will take the fall for it." Nine retorted before he could even think, "Exile? Don't you think that's too gentle? Why not chop his head off and hang his body above your throne?" One glared, "That will be _your _fate. I will be sure of it. Now go." Nine nodded quickly and started out of the room, One calling after him, "And if you are not back by sundown I will not lower the lift for you!" Two suddenly spoke up, "Yes, he'll see to it that I do."

If One's glares could kill, both Two and the creature would both fall over dead. Though One swore that the creature now looked much calmer, stable, as though it had heard the conversation; As though it had been listening.

* * *

**Mable: I'd say that the plot thickens, but I'm sure I've already said so before. The next chapter will be up first thing tomorrow. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	9. Chapter 9: The Overwhelming Truth

**Mable: This was a bit rushed, but I was rushing to get a few more chapters done, but here's chapter nine. I don't own 9, enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls run Deep**_

_Chapter Nine: The Overwhelming Truth_

It was late in the afternoon and the golden sun began to shine through the cranks and ends of the Scientist's Workshop. Nine climbed the long staircase and entered inside in a determined fashion. He immediately scoured through the papers on the floor and through the close drawers, searching and looking for anything to show him what the creature was. He soon realized that this was nearly a fruitless search. There wasn't anything to suggest the creature had even exited when the Scientist was still alive; no papers, no pictures, nothing.

It began to grow darker out and Nine began to hear creaks and groans in the floorboards. It was like something was nearby, but he was sure that nothing was there and it was all in his mind, as it usually was when he was in the Emptiness. Soon, though, it all was worth it. In the back of an incredibly heavy drawer that Nine had to pry open he found a small box. It was of wood, carved with elegant designs, and looked special. Nine went to open it when he suddenly saw what looked to be an odd lock.

It had five little wheels that each had five random letters on it, all in a row, and Nine wondered if certain letters could trigger the box to open. The thought of guessing seemed like a ridiculously lengthy task, "Maybe he wrote it down…" His optics rose to the workbench nearby, "Maybe it's up there." It took a bit of effort to climb to the top of the workbench and once on the familiar surface he began to search.

The only thing of interest was a paper with a short written expert on the creation of Stitchpunks. All around interested in reading what his creator wrote, Nine scanned it.

_To give one life is the only rewarding aspect of searching for how to create life. Power is unnecessary, all that can matter is the prospect of bringing something into the world, as your child, and keeping it sustained. Unfortunately, it seems that the only way to create life is to give of your own. A justified sacrifice; the laws of the world suggest that something cannot come from nothing. To create life is the only rewarding sacrifice that one should give their life for. Giving life for any material object is simply meaningless._

Then, suddenly, it struck Nine like a hit to the head. He was writing about giving his own soul to birth the Stitchpunks. Souls were the key, and promptly Nine headed back to the box, dragging the paper with him. He rolled the first for dials to the correct letter, the fourth time making a snapping noise, and soon found confusion at the final dial. There were only a few numbers, and the letter's' wasn't one of them.

When he went to change them back, he now found the letter 'l' had locked when he set it into place without rolling over it. After fidgeting with it for a bit, he realized it wasn't moving, and checked the paper again, "Could it be 'life' backwards?... Then what would be the fifth letter? Maybe it doesn't matter." So, he tried to input 'life' and did so, but found nothing changed. "Alright, that was a long shot, let me try- Now this one's stuck?!" The 'I' was now locked into place and was refusing to budge.

"That wasn't on accident." Nine muttered to himself, as he did when he was alone and disliking of the quiet atmosphere, "Maybe that's part of the combination?" He scanned the paper again, and his optics soon locked onto one word in particular, "'Child' adds up." He turned to the box again and began to roll through the dials. Soon he inputted the code and it responded with a few clicking noises. He rested the Lightstaff to the side and hooked his fingers under the lid to lift it.

The box was filled with folded papers. He could see scribbles of drawings and some places where ink had leaked through to the outside to reveal half-finished words. Pulling one out, Nine unfolded it on the floor to see pencil drawn pictures of dolls. Some looked like porcelain dolls with metal parts, then they were replaced with more metal frames, and soon the ragdoll exterior of a common Stitchpunk was beginning to be drawn. These were the beginning sketches of the Scientist designing Nine and his family.

Knowing this, he started to go through the rest of the pictures, and soon he found the sketch of an actual Stitchpunk. It was an average Stitchpunk with no extraordinary features of any kind. In fact, it looked very much like Nine. He soon found that, oddly, the drawings contained only few places where there were actual stitched seams. The fabric's markings suggested it was burlap, but Nine couldn't be sure if that was what the Scientist was trying to draw. That's when Nine realized that the hands and feet were very rustic. In fact, the hands looked like One's.

"Is this… It can't be. The body isn't all metal, it doesn't…" There was one telltale sign, though. The frame showed a port connected to its front, perhaps used to enter the Soul before the Scientist used his other method, the one Nine knew little of but knew created him. "This is it. This is the proof. This is- Ah!" He had turned around to head to the door when he came face to face with what he could only consider a terrible coincidence.

It was the creature, or what Nine now knew was definitely a Stitchpunk, even if something had happened to it. The hundreds of questions about how it became what it was now and why it was in the Machine were silenced by its piercing gaze. Nine managed to recover and looked to the paper that was partially in his grasp. The creature followed his gaze to the drawing before its hand reached forward. It was sudden, so sudden that it caused Nine to pull back, but the creature simply looked over the paper.

Nine could see small changes in its facial features and saw something that looked like alarm. This led the zippered one to want to continue looking in the box. Going through the papers, something soon caught his attention, and he lifted him to see a newspaper clipping. It looked like something the Twins would do, but it was a clear message. The article depicted the Machine's first attack on the humans and the date was circled as though it was important.

"Look at this." Nine suggested, showing it to the creature whose red optics slid to see it. There was a second before it took ahold of the article, letting the rest spread across the ground and reveal itself to him. The zippered one watched him as he grabbed his Lightstaff and could see sudden twitching. It was violent and unpredictable. "Are you laughing?" Nine asked, confused. Only a few seconds after the newspaper clipping was dropped and the creature turned.

It began to almost dash a few feet away before it fell to its knees. Dark liquid resembling oil began to pour from its mouth as it made hacking noises as though it couldn't breathe. Though Nine began to doubt that it could breathe from the oil that was coming from a questionable area. Perhaps it was leftover from the Machine, he deduced. Nine approached cautiously and stared down at the creature. Soon it was finished and simply rested there, quietly panting, and Nine took the entire event as a bad reaction.

"It's okay." He decided to comfort, kneeling down beside the Stitchpunk creature, and rested his hand on its shoulder. It abruptly pulled back onto its knees and stood, resisting Nine's comfort and turning only to see what it must have not noticed earlier. It was obvious from the sudden stumbling that took its steps that the sight of seeing the Scientist was obviously affecting it. Nine didn't know how he could miss the body, unless he was just so focused on Nine, which seemed unlikely.

The creature moved to the Scientist's hand and rested upon it, just going limp, and for a little bit Nine could only watch him. Eventually the creature suddenly seemed to change, in the next second it was acting like it wanted to be nowhere near the body, and Nine decided that maybe it was time to head back to the sanctuary. He hurried to retrieve the paper that showed the creature as a Stitchpunk. As he began to lift the paper he noticed something at the clear bottom.

"My Child…" He read the two words soft enough that the other couldn't hear. Nine paused briefly before folding up the paper into a small square that was easier to carry. "They are probably worried about us." He voiced to the darker one, hoping to be relatively social, especially now that he knew what it was another of his kind. It seemed to still be relatively hesitant to accept him and pointedly walked ahead, ignoring any attempt at comfort or communication.

* * *

"You let it follow him?! How could you do something so foolish!?" One's echoing fury triggered most of the Stitchpunks to flee the Throne Room. They knew Two wasn't in much of a threat other than a harsh scolding and Two had reassured them with beckoning them to go.

Otherwise Seven certainly wouldn't have backed down from One. Instead, she decided that other things needed to be addressed, such as the only Stitchpunk who made One look like a saint. She burst into Eight's room on a mission, him sharpening his knife as usual. "We need to talk." She nearly growled and he sent her a confused look. Seven continued, "I heard some of what's going on, Eight, and I'm not ignorant. Holding something over Six's head to make him do what you want? Six would probably already do anything you asked!"

"What-?" Eight cut off and stood, pushing the sharpening stone to the floor, "What did he tell you?" She stormed up to him in a challenging motion, "I heard you down in the library earlier. I know you enjoy feeling like you're better than him, but this is out of control." He turned away, "You don't know what's going on. You need to stay out of it." Seven glared tighter, "How can you live with this?"

"You don't know anything about this Seven. If you get involved, things are just going to get worse, so just stay out of it." The pale Stitchpunk shook her head, "You aren't-."

"_Eight!_"

Both fell silent at One's voice. Eight soon responded with a, "Coming Boss!" Then turned to Seven, "Last time; stay out of this. This involves Me and Six. Not you." He soon stormed out of the room and down the hall. Seven briefly followed him, but stopped and decided to instead go see Six. She entered the Artist's room cautiously and noticed that the male was sleeping. This was odd, especially for someone who slept as little as Six did. Seven's anger at Eight cooled as concern for Six began to grow.

Slowly she walked over to Six, quiet enough that he didn't hear her, and pulled the blankets up on him. He fidgeted a little bit, but didn't awaken. She honestly hadn't wanted to make things worse, but Eight having this much control over a fragile Six scared her, even if she wasn't exactly sure what was being held over Six's head. There was nothing she could do except continue to try to convince Eight to stop.

Meanwhile, she wasn't the only one in the Sanctuary who was under duress. Five was becoming more and more aware of Three trying to stay close to him and was beginning to come to his own conclusions. Soon he came up with one pressing one and decided to confront Three, waiting until One drove them out of the Throne Room. He had entered the workshop and begun to wring his hands in a mix of guilt and concern. He wasn't that good with words and this wasn't one of the times when he could very much mix them up.

As predicted, Three soon came looking, rushing in with a greeting of flashing optics and curiously looking at the table for a project. There wasn't one, though, and instead looked back to Five quizzically. Five rested a hand on her shoulder, "Three…" He looked around for something, anything, and then led her to the nearby bench, "Here, uh, please sit down." Three did, crossing her legs at the heels and resting her hands on her lap, smiling innocently, and Five sat beside her.

"Three… I've noticed that… That you've wanted to spend a lot of- a lot of time with me… and I think I know why." Three blinked and her smile dropped. Five forced himself to continue, "I know that it's been hard for you and Four, having to sort of live without someone to guide you… Without a Mother or Father, but I know Seven is like your mother, so I realized that maybe you were seeing me as your father- Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset, I'm really flattered, and I just hope that I can give you what Two has…"

He trailed off as he noticed that Three was smiling again, looking a bit overly cheerful, and Five was confused, "Three?" She shook her head quickly, optics flickering like she was laughing, and Five questioned, "Was I…? I was wrong, wasn't I?" She answered by reaching up and touching Five's patch. He remembered after he lost his optic when the twins would curiously pet at his patch.

Then Three suddenly pushed her lips to Five's.

It took a second for him to react and when he did, he jumped back, falling off the end of the bench, and taking down a rounded container of bits and screws with him. Three immediately looked down in concern and he sputtered and stuttered. "W-Why did- What- Why did- Three-?" He just couldn't get the words out. He knew what the action meant, Two had told him, and it meant that Three did have affection for him, but not the kind he thought.

Then, suddenly, he wasn't looking up at the young, innocent twin anymore. He was looking at a female, a girl, and he couldn't tell whether it frightened him or enlightened him. Either way, he stumbled to his feet, stuttering vigorous apologies, and left the workshop in a bizarre stumbling gait. Three could only watch in her own horror before she buried her head into her hands and began to weep, believing she had done something wrong.

* * *

It was nighttime when Nine returned and, thankfully, Two did manage to lower the lift for them. Nine entered the lift and patiently waited for the creature that quietly entered and shut the lift's door behind him. Nine didn't even try asking the other for help and clamped the Lightstaff under his free arm as he began to attempt maneuvering the lift upwards. It began to start going upwards to the Sanctuary.

The throne room was barren and not a single candle was left lit except for a dim light that came from a candle in the Workshop. It was usually left on at night to guide suddenly awoke Stitchpunks to wherever they needed to be. Once they exited the lift, Nine watched as the creature stepped off the lift and began to head straight to the workshop. Nine followed along behind him and they entered the workshop together.

He had noticed the light in One's room looked dim as they passed and secretly hoped the leader wasn't awake to badger him for being late. Since One never emerged from the depths of his room he guessed that he must have been asleep. He then noticed the creature staring at the floor and looked past to see a bunch of spilled parts. "What happened here?" Nine questioned, mostly to himself as the creature refused to respond.

"Anyway, I guess you're tired." He continued, "So I'm just going to let you get to sleep." The other began to lie down on the cot and Nine exhaled, leaving the paper on the workbench, and then went to leave the room. Unfortunately, he couldn't, because he knew there was something he had to say. Something had to be said and he just didn't feel that anything he could say would be worth it.

Finally he looked over at the cot and cautiously began, "I know everything is confusing right now, really confusing, but it's going to be okay." He couldn't tell if the other was paying attention as he made no movement from his position, "Things seem hard now, and they are, I know they are, but they will get better. It feels like they won't, but they will." He looked away, "I've felt that hopelessness. I know what it's like to look around and realize that you've lost everything that you had."

The memories filtered through and Nine tried to suppress them. Memories of the incident and of nearly losing the others filled his mind and he remembered the pain he felt when he believed they would never return. If they wouldn't have reawaken from the rain he dared to think of what he would've done. Looking over at the creature he continued, "These things will pass, they just take time."

Now Nine finally began to walk towards the door before looking back at the creature one last time, "It's… It's going to be okay." Then he turned away and drew open the curtain.

"You keep saying that."

Nine froze in his tracks at the door as he heard the foreign voice. It sounded a bit deeper than Nine's, though still held a slight tone of youth, and something about it sounded similar to One's. Nine slowly looked back at the cot and stared at the back of the other figure. "What?" He asked. He received a sudden answer, "You keep _saying _that it will be 'okay'. With not a shred of evidence to back up such an accusation it seems like the complete opposite. It seems like everything is falling apart." The creature now turned to face Nine, those piercing red eyes glaring, "And certainly not _okay._"

Nine's expression said it all; mouth dropped open and optics widened. The sudden reprimand took him completely aback and he could tell that the other voice was nowhere near sounding pleased. "I thought… I thought you couldn't talk." The other's hand clutched into the cot, curling into an angry fist. "Well, perhaps it is better if I didn't talk. Then everyone could continue their never ending grieving process for having to deal with me. Many of them angry, a few bargaining that I'll leave, a few depressed, you in obvious denial, and me as close to acceptance as anyone is going to get."

"I…" Nine managed to recover, "Why didn't you defend yourself earlier? You could have told One yourself that-." The creature sat up on the cot, now making Nine feel a bit uneasy, and he clutched the staff tighter. "He wouldn't have listened." Nine answered himself and the other's brief nod made him realize he was right. Nine looked down briefly before suddenly deciding to challenge the other, "Child."

"Don't call me that." The creature retorted and Nine managed to cause him to cave a bit. The creature looked at the floor, its red optics seeming to lose their intensity, and Nine knew he hit a chord. "It's what the Scientist put on those papers. He called you his child and even the box's combination was 'Child'." The creature huffed, "I am astounded at how easily you label your creator in such a disassociated way, but you are somewhat correct."

His fists tightened, "I _was _his Child. Just his Child, not a creation, not an experiment, before that- I thought _you_ were going to your room." Nine came closer, deciding to pry, "Child, alright, he wasn't using numbers yet I guess." He decided to stop saying 'the Scientist' around the other. "How did you- Why are you like-." He could finished and Child turned away rubbing his arms with the opposite hand.

"You have no idea…" Child began, but then fell silent, and restarted once again. "You have no idea what it is like to hate something so much that you just want them gone. You know it is a disgusting, _vile, terrible _thing, but it still lives, and you live your life in a perpetual hell fueled by this _monster." _His voice suddenly cracked and he sounded a bit lost, "I didn't mean for it to happen. I just wanted it gone. I knew it was just a weapon, it had no feelings, it was wrong, and I made a terrible mistake."

* * *

_He waited, it watched him, and then the optic flickered. It started to fall, trying to pull itself back up, but failed and faltered again. Finally it fell to the ground and its arms grasped around before going still. Child felt a euphoric feeling envelope him and he turned around to leave into the night. It was done; it was over, the machine was no more. He hadn't been able to get full revenge on the humans, but this was good enough, and he felt a soft chuckle rise in his inside frame. _

_He was a bit unstable off of the high from killing something that plagued him for so long. Though, he did feel a bit bad for it, the pathetic thing hadn't been given a chance to be a living creature, to feel, to think with its own priorities in mind, and Child, for the first time in his life, felt equal to the Beast. He found a smile being tugged across his pale burlap as he crossed the chamber to the exit of the factory that filled the sky with the thick smoke. That was, until he heard a noise, and then paused to listen. _

_It was a squeak like something metal was beginning to open. As he turned back he was confused to see that the optic lens on the monster had opened and allowed him to see into the dark optic. The pupil was dilated as though it really was deceased and so he hoped it was only from faulty building on the beast. He couldn't see the mechanics inside, though, and decided he wasn't willing to go look closer. There was a metal upon metal noise from inside the beast and suddenly Child wondered if this creature was still alive, still attempting to survive. _

_It was proven when long strand of cords, tipped with sharp claws, burst from inside and went straight for the first thing that could give life._

_The Stitchpunk himself._

_They grabbed into his fabric and dragged him in quickly, trying to shut the lens on him. Child panicked and attempted to struggle, fearful, and felt a sharp pain as something entered his back. Burning pain filled every inch of him and he managed to pull enough strength together to pull himself out of the optic. He burst into the light and began trying to drag himself away before looking at himself. Something black and wet covered him, burned him, and even his fabric began to melt away. _

_Being pumped inside from the cord that he could see latched into his back, he could feel it trying to fuse with his interior. It pulled him back and he tried to tightly hold onto the ground. His breath was obscured and he coughed, the same black liquid came from his mouth, and Child knew it was some sort of oil. The pain was so intense that he began to scream, "Father!" He desperately called as he was drug back, "Father! Father!" _

_His voice cracked oddly and started to melt away, literally, as his voice box was damaged beyond repair. His voice could only try the lowest frequency, "Fath…. Fath…." Back he was drug, into the machine, and the lens shut. Then, suddenly, everything seemed to disappear, and everything went dark._

* * *

"Now here I am…" Child looked at his hands, "I have become the thing I hate most to punish me for what I did." He began to grow more worked up, panting, and turned to Nine, "_How is this okay?!_" The arms slid back out and Child was raised high enough that he almost brushed the roof, towering above Nine who stared up at him, and spoke up, _"Look at me! Look at what I am and tell me that it will be fine!"_

Nine spoke up out of reflex, "It will be okay." He held the Lightstaff between them in defense, but it didn't matter as, almost immediately, Child's anger turned to sheer confusion. As though Nine's reaction took him so aback that there was no possible way he could keep the anger going. He backed down, the arms retracted, and Nine wondered how nobody heard them. A single look at the curtain revealed why, because there was Five at the door. Without an answer, Five dipped back into the hall, and Nine sighed.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you. Why didn't you come out before?" Child glared, "I only came back after something happened to _it_, once it released its hold. Before that, it is a bit blurry." Nine asked curiously, "Why did you come after me when I found you? I didn't do anything to you. I wasn't even holding much of a weapon." Child seemed hesitant to answer, "I was confused…" Nine didn't seem pleased, "You weren't that confused. You hunted me down."

"I recognized you." Child corrected and sharply added, "Is that what you wanted to hear?" The pieces of the puzzle were a bit more put together, but many gaps still remained, and yet Nine decided he had enough for now. Not wanting to cause Child anymore unneeded stress, he began to wind their conversation down. "You need to get some rest. I can't even think of what this must be like." Child rubbed his temples, the metal not seeming to give any, and asked abruptly, "Where is your room?"

The zippered one raised a stitched eyebrow, "Next room. Other side of that wall." Child fidgeted a bit and Nine was concerned, "Is more oil going to come out of your mouth?" The darker male sent a small look of weariness, "Go to sleep, Nine." Nine nodded and turned away, only to stop in his tracks, "How did you know my name?" The other responded immediately, "I'm not blind. You've turned around more than once in front of me." Nine tried to suppress any slight frustration and continued out of the room, "Good night, Child."

Even though Child was more of a handful than Nine expected, he couldn't say he didn't feel good as he left the room and headed towards the room he shared with Five. He had actually done something right. He had saved a life; even it was relatively ungrateful about it. Nine entered the bedroom to see Five in bed already. He didn't believe the other male was really asleep, but decided to go along with the charade and head to his own bed.

As before, only a few seconds after he lay down and he fell fast asleep.

* * *

**Mable: Alright, end of chapter. So, well, not much to say. If anyone has any positive feedback then please review. I don't usually ask for any, but I sort of gave in to ask, though I don't want anything forced. If you don't want to review, fine, I'm still continuing no matter what. Err, anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed! Next chapter tomorrow!**


	10. Chapter 10: The Runaway

**Mable: Onto chapter ten! It feels good to say. Anyway, I don't own 9, I hope everyone enjoys!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Ten: The Runaway's Trail_

Both Nine and Five awoke when someone dashed into the room. Five jumped up the second that the small Stitchpunk hit his chest. He thought it was Three, sitting up groggily, but soon realized it was Four, and she looked distressed. Her optics flashed desperately and Five began to awaken quicker, "Four? What's wrong?" That's when another voice came from the door, "Three's gone." It was Seven who entered the room promptly after.

Immediately Five started to climb out of bed, "Three's… Three's gone?!" Nine began to clear his mind and was equally as shocked. Both males were soon both to their feet and Seven nodded. "Four woke me up a few minutes ago. I checked on Three and her bed is still warm, but she's gone." She then looked to Five for answers, "You were spending some time with her; was she acting like something was wrong before she went to sleep?"

Five knew immediately what was wrong. Guilt swelled inside until it felt like it was to burst and spread like water through his body. He grabbed his things, "She couldn't have gone far. Maybe if I run, I can catch up to her, and convince her to come back." Nine and Seven both looked to each other; it was obvious something had happened and yet neither decided to protest. "We're coming too." Nine spoke up as he headed to the door and drew open the curtain, "We all care about Three and we need to help-Ah!"

The sudden shriek caused the other three to look over, seeing Child in the door. "Stop doing that!" Nine scolded in embarrassment only to see Child remain unfazed. In fact, he was incredibly quiet as well, refusing to speak. "What's wrong?" Nine asked, calmed down, only to fall into Child and nearly knock them both into the wall when Four rushed by him. Now Child suddenly became vocal with a quick, "Get off of me!" And shoving Nine back like his touch had burned.

After the zippered male could a good glare in, Five and Seven passed and he went to follow. They were ambushed by One bursting out of his room, "Who is gone?" Five managed to weave around One, but Seven accepted the challenge, "One, I know you were awake. I just saw Two leave the room." One suddenly looked shocked and immediately spoke up, "He certainly was not! How dare you-… Spout such confusing lies!"

Seven rolled her optics and One turned to the two lagging in the back. "Nine, you have returned." Nine nodded, "I got back last night. Everyone was already asleep." Of course the leader went straight to the point. "And your evidence?" Seven huffed, "Really, this isn't the time, both of you. Three's gone missing and all you can talk about is evidence of whether or not Two was right." That was mostly the case, but neither of the two was willing to back down until the point was made.

As such, Nine entered the workbench, saying a brief greeting to Two who was in the workshop, and returned with the paper. "It's all here." He explained, beginning to unfold. "It's what the Scientist made when Child- When he was born." One unfolded it until it was nearly all the way open and scanned over the work. He read on the bottom, "My Child…" Nine nodded, "It's his name." At that second Child pointedly passed, glaring at Nine, and the zippered one pointedly ignored him.

"Very well. You have proven your point. He may stay with us." Two appeared by Nine, giving him a pat on his back of congratulations as he took the paper from One, who continued, "If he begins to act like one of those _things, _I will not hesitate to retract my word." He soon left to bray on Eight's doorframe. Two looked over the paper and seemed more than pleased, though a bit confused, "He never said… Just as well, he is one of us. Have you been able to get our friend to communicate?"

"Last night," Nine explained as they began to head to the lift, "But he's being quiet today. The only thing he's done so far is act like he hates me." The Inventor chuckled, "Perhaps he takes after One." Five was already at the crank staring at it, looking disturbed and torn. Two approached Five and tried to comfort him, "We will find her, Five. She most likely just went downstairs to look through the library." The apprentice shook his head, "Not after what happened." He then, quietly, began to explain.

Nine approached Seven who was comforting the fearful Four and speaking to Six. He caught only the end of the conversation. "You should stay and rest. I know the past few days have been hard on you." Six shook his head tiredly, "I'm okay." The zippered one was met with a glance from both of them and a weak smile from Seven. "Good morning, Six." Nine greeted cautiously and the Artist smiled a little. Of course, his optics soon trailed off, and Nine turned to Seven.

"Is she alright?" He clearly meant Four and Seven nodded, "Yes, she's just worried for her sister. I don't remember them being apart for this long before." Nine was sympathetic and reached forward to pat Four's head before turning to enter the lift. Immediately he saw Child eyeing him down. Before he could ask, they were relatively crushed into the bucket lift.

One and Eight decided to wait until the lift lowered to board and the lift began to lower. Once all Stitchpunks were down in the library, they began to scour for the missing twin, and soon it was obvious that she wasn't present. Five was the first to point out that they needed to go into the Emptiness and find her. After contemplating it for a few seconds they came to a conclusion. "It seems only natural that the Machine would have brought memories up. The best chance we have is of her being at the Phonograph."

The rest of them seemed to agree, even the usually argumentative One. The wandered out front, "I'm sure the closest way is if we go straight to the trench and walk along to the alternate crossing point." Five suggested, getting his map out and scanning for the quickest way, "That should lead us right to her, and that's probably the way she would've gone." Seven seemed a little hesitant, "Wouldn't the direct route be faster?" Five toyed with the idea, battling with his thoughts, and Eight spoke. "Does it matter? Pick one and we'll go."

"Or perhaps," Nine knew by One's tone that he was going to start something, "We should ask out 'new friend' what his opinions are." A blunt attempt to try and test Child made Nine feel a little protective and he prepared to go to the Stitchpunk's defense. Instead, however, he noticed that Child was staring at something nearby, and then the male responded with a single question, "Wasn't there a Cathedral there?"

* * *

Three stared at the grass blades nearby that blew gently in the steady wind. The scene would've been something she would've wanted to copy and put into a special book if she was feeling better. Instead she could just think of how solemn the scene was. She had wanted desperately to get away, even if only for a few minutes, but couldn't get Five's rejection out of her mind. It hurt so badly. Once again one of the others was treating her like a child.

She certainly was smaller than the others, but not younger by much. Three was a young female who was ready to seek out a mate and be treated like a normal Stitchpunk. Five was the perfect male figure that she could see. Sweet and careful, constantly working with his hands in ways that Three loved to watch, and yet even he still thought of her as a young child.

She was alerted by the sound of something nearby. It sounded like a metallic noise and she immediately knew that it was a Beast. Out of reflex, she immediately stood to her feet and sought out somewhere to hide.

* * *

"How was I supposed to know he would act that way?" Child asked with a tone of frustration and Nine didn't respond. The mentioning of the Cathedral sent One at least three feet in front of everyone, leading them without saying a thing. Everyone else felt too awkward to speak up. Finally Nine looked over to Child, "You had to bring it up." The male's optics flickered with static, "I mention a single building, the first words I spoke to that man; this was not my fault."

"I know." Nine answered, "I know, it wasn't." He looked at the nearby trench as they continued to walk. Eventually, Child spoke again, "Your friend is watching me again." Nine raised a stitched eyebrow. "Raggedy Andy back there. The yarn topped one." A soft smile formed as Nine looked back, beckoning Six to come forward. The Artist seemed hesitant, secretly thinking of what Eight would do, but eventually gave in and rushed up. Nine didn't expect the Artist to embrace Child from behind, muttering out how happy he was that he was alright.

Child clenched like he was in pain, but didn't shove the other off as he did to Nine earlier. Six soon pulled back and began to speak to the other. "I'm glad to see you… Was afraid you wouldn't be okay." The other didn't want to answer, but did, "I… Thank you, for your concern." The Artist smiled, "It sounded like you were in pain when you were in there. Especially when you said it burned." Child now pulled back, answering quickly, "I am sorry, but we have not spoken before."

"Yes, we have." Six insisted as he toyed with his key, "Just… I don't think you remember it… It was before you came out. You kept saying you were hurting…" Child insisted this wasn't the case, "Six, is it? I am sure we haven't spoken. I was unconscious, I couldn't feel anything, and I doubt I could have communicated." It was almost as though he was defending himself and Six had a small, sad smile, "I knew you wouldn't remember… But that's okay. You wouldn't have wanted to."

Nine used this time to cross to where Five was walking ahead. His best friend looked alert and determined, though equally concerned. Soon Nine felt the unwavering need to speak, "We're almost there." The healer nodded, but still looked a bit disturbed.

Before anything could continue, One stopped in his tracks, "Good Lord…" He hissed and the others looked forward to see something horrifying. Six immediately spoke up, "Nine, it's that Beast with all the eyes!" The Tentacle Beast was nearby at the Phonograph, circling the area and digging through anything nearby. It was obviously looking for something and suddenly Five gasped in alarm, "It's trying to get Three!"

He pulled out his needle harpoon, aimed, and One stopped him. "We cannot rush into this Five! We must think of a plan!" However, Five seemed past reason, "We can't let it get her!" He desperately argued back until Two came between them, "Alright, here we are, here's the plan. We'll spread out and come in on the Beast slowly. Ambushing it." At that second, the Tentacle Beast suddenly reached into the cone of the Phonograph, and drug out a terrified Four. Immediately, she was enwrapped and slowly getting squeezed.

Before this could happen, Five flipped into his fighting stance again and sent a harpoon into one of its eyes. It let out a shrill noise, but didn't release Three, and all of the Stitchpunks attempted to move in. Seven got the closest first and went for the tentacle that held Three, only to find that it couldn't be cut and was much too thick. As such, the Machine shoved her back onto the ground, and brought the same tentacle holding Three down to crush her. It must have stuck her head, as she fainted.

Eight wasn't willing to go that easy and was glad to see that his knife was big enough to still slice through the tentacles. It soon came apparent that when one was clipped, it would just begin to slide out of the Beast farther until it regained its length. To this, Eight went straight to Three and sliced through the tentacle before beginning to circle it in an attempt to find a weakness. Five managed to take out another of the large red eyes before he got to where Three was. He pulled the sliced off limb off of her and pulled her into his arms.

For a second he just held her and only then came back to his senses to try and get back away from the Beast. Nine did the same, helping to get Seven off of the ground as she seemed still waking from the head injury, and tried to coax her forward. Naturally, he expected the Tentacle Beast to come after him next, and it would have if not for the black blur that appeared from behind Nine and leapt upon the Beast. Child was furious and completely uncaring as the fact of his appearance compared to its, and his extra claws and limbs began to break through any eye in sight.

The Beast itself did seem a bit confused and merely ripped Child off before tossing him somewhere behind the phonograph. It reared its head again to find a suitable target, but none of the Stitchpunks were still in the vicinity. One and Two had managed to move Four, Five, and the injured Seven back out of its reach far enough that it would have to come after them.

This seemed like the best time for Six to attempt something. None of the others could get hurt and he was confident he could do some damage. As for if the others would see, he doubted that they would notice with the Beast taking their attention. He looked for a good sized rock and began to focus once again, lifting it and beginning to move it slowly. Then he managed to throw it and suffer through the headache after it. The rock clipped the Beast's top, but did manage to break a few more eyes. The few that remained all refocused themselves on the new threat, Six.

He could only watch through a haze as the Beast slowly began to pull one tentacle out, it somewhat rolling into itself, all the way until it suddenly began to loosen itself. At that second it suddenly was thrown forward, the small claw at the end ready to strike and latching onto Six's key. It began to pull him in faster than before and as he was drug along the ground he was somewhat feeling like he was suffocating, even though it was virtually impossible to tighten anything around their necks enough to cause that.

Eight swore and went forward to try to get the cord, but the Beast was stubbornly making it suddenly jut out of the way to make it so his knife continued to miss. Then, once Six got close enough, its bottom side began to lift up off of the ground to reveal a base between the tentacles beneath. It opened like an optic and revealed a mess of razor sharp blades, like teeth, and darkness past that. By now Six was desperately trying to escape and the others began to come in, even Seven who was still stumbling.

"Eight!" Six called desperately to the Guard who was still trying to get the chord. "Eight, please, help!" The begging managed to do something as Eight suddenly got angry enough that he decided to no longer go after the tentacle. Instead, he circled the Beast to deal with the now tilted downward dome of eyes, and let out a war cry before he put his knife straight through it. The Beast made a bizarre sound and Eight did it again, and again, and continued to stab until it finally let out a groan and nearly collapsed upon him. The eyes going dim.

Going back around, he could see that Two had jogged up and was assisting Six in getting the tentacle off of him. He had been so close to the blades that were not unresponsive that it was a wonder it hadn't clipped his yarn. Eight wasn't pleased though, definitely not, and gave Six a strict look of frustration before turning to walk away, stopping beside One who was now surprisingly addressing Seven.

"It is defeated, now sit down. You will injure yourself more if you do not give yourself a second to recover." She huffed, "One, I'm fine." The leader wasn't convinced, "You are certainly not. I saw you stumbling about. Four, come take- I'll just do it myself. Come along." He began to, relatively forcible; lead Seven around the Beast's corpse, not getting too close, and approached the phonograph in an attempt to find somewhere to have Seven rest.

Four was embracing her sister who was still in Five's grasp and Three responded with her own grasping. The two twins were obviously glad to see each other. Soon Five set Three down once again and only at this second did Four suddenly decide to leave, as though she wanted to leave the two alone. That moment felt more awkward to Five than ever, but he felt that he needed to speak, "I'm sorry." He apologized, "I shouldn't… I shouldn't have run away from you like that. I wasn't thinking."

In fact, bringing it back up now caused him to feel uncomfortably warm, especially in his face. However, there was something he had decided to approach her with last night, but never had the chance before she left. Cautiously, ready to jump away if rejected, Five reached up and pulled her hood back to fall on her shoulders, then leaned in to press his lips against hers chastely. Since he pulled away almost immediately it could very well barely be counted as a kiss.

It did what it was supposed to, though, and Three nearly swooned at the feeling. Soon, both were smiling, though Five looked a little guilty. Three leaned forward and embraced him, resting her head against his buttons and enjoying the feeling of his strong arms wrapping around her waist. Nothing could ruin the moment, not the Beast's corpse, not One glaring from the Phonograph, it was just the healer and his little librarian.

Two had clearly seen what Six did and, to Six's relief, was being very supportive; though the Artist had expected this from the Inventor. The others must have still not noticed. "I have never seen such a thing, but I have heard of it." He explained, "I think it might mean you are Psychokinetic, or Telekinetic." Six didn't seem to react well with 'Psycho', so the other word went along better. Six smiled at the thought that maybe someone else could've done what he was, he wasn't simply a freak, until he noticed Eight glaring from some ways away.

He didn't know why Eight was so angry, but had the nagging urge to go ask. Since he was still somewhat in debt to the Guard it would have been a smart move. As Two continued to go on, Six spoke up, "Two… I think you should check on Seven. She hurt her head." He really was concerned, so it got two birds with one stone. Two perked, "Oh yes, I should check on her. I will tell you more in a bit; I'm positive I still have that book somewhere in the library…" He stood and began to seek out Seven who was now sitting near the Phonograph with One.

Six approached Eight who seemed to automatically turn away and tried to speak. "Eight… Thank you." That wasn't what bothered Eight, obviously, and Six tried to circle him. "I could've died… You saved me. I don't…" Then, after a moment of silence, Eight spoke, "Yeah. You could've died." There was that furious tone and the Artist reluctantly pressed further, "Are you mad at me?" The Guard abruptly turned on him so fast that Six stumbled back, "What were you thinking trying to go against that thing?! You almost died!"

"I…" Six was taken aback, "I just… I wanted to help…" Eight didn't back down, "You suddenly think because you can move some things that you can take on something than none of us, all combined, could take down?! I can't even think of what was going through your mind right then!" The Artist found the shock of being scolded beginning to turn to sadness. He had been trying to impress Eight, not make him angry. "But… I hit it."

"You could've been killed, end of story." Eight pointed out. "We were only working for one day and you decide to start this! You could barely lift a book and you suddenly think you can take on Beasts!" That's when the sadness suddenly turned into confusion and Six carefully went over the words. "Working?" Eight huffed, not hearing him, "Now what?" Six spoke louder, "You said 'working'. I thought… I thought you said you just wanted me to do things for you, not that we were working."

Eight caught his mistake and was taken aback. "That… That was wrong. I meant working like what we were doing was-." He cut off when he could see that Six wasn't convinced at all. Eventually he knew he had to say the truth and rubbed his head. "Right, you win, here's the real deal." He crossed his arms, "If you think I forgot what happened back at the factory, when I was trapped, you're wrong. It really began to bother me that you did that, driving me insane, so it seemed easy enough to make sure that you could defend yourself if you had to again."

"So you were training me?" Six asked, voice wavering, "Why didn't… You tell me?" Eight didn't answer; maybe he didn't even know himself. Maybe it was pride, maybe the lingering feeling of bullying, but it didn't change Six's reaction. The second the taller turned away he grasped onto his hand, "Wait." He paused, briefly, and Eight looked at him quizzically. Then Six spoke up, "I… I want you to keep doing it."

"What?" Eight asked in confusion and Six continued, "I don't like this, tired of being defenseless. I want to learn more and I want you to teach me." Not that Eight knew much about what this thing Six was doing was. He turned to the Artist, "I'm not going easy on you," He insisted, "and nothing's changed between us, so don't expect anything else than this; A means to an end." With that agreement, Six nodded and allowed a small smile to form.

Nine searched behind the Phonograph until he managed to find Child. The male was coming towards him on all fours, or eights, crawling about on his belly. The zippered male looked confused before he caught on, "You're injured." The other male retorted with annoyance, "No, of course not, that is completely untrue, and I am fine. Absolutely fine. I simply prefer moving this way." Nine cracked a smile that caused Child to have that crackle of electricity again.

"Come on, I'm not that clueless." Nine turned and started towards the edge of the Phonograph, "Two? Child's injured." He of course received backlash, "That is not true. I am completely fine, stop telling them otherwise." Two quickly moved from Seven and headed towards the dark Stitchpunk. Child was looking around hesitantly as a few seemed to be looking over and staring at him, though it was mostly paranoia setting in. Two began to address Child, noticing immediately that the male was staying off his left leg, and somewhat off the right.

"Did you fall on them?" Two asked gently and Child simply nodded before becoming incredibly passive and allowing the male full access. The Inventor scrutinized them a bit before coming to a conclusion. "Don't worry, they're fine. Just a bit sore from the landing. You might want to stay off of them for a bit." With that, he began to mercilessly look over Child's body, interested and relieved that he got in close.

Nine watched as Child suddenly grew even more passive and completely allowed Two to touch anything he wished. It sort of relieved Nine. Everything turned out alright; Three was okay, Five wasn't worried anymore, but for some reason Nine still had a bad feeling. As though something was coming; as though something was bound to go wrong.

* * *

**Mable: Well, there's chapter ten. It seems like only yesterday that I started writing this…. Looks like Eight did a 180. Personally I think he saw 27's Fury's review and began to fear for his life. ^-^ It certainly did work though. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed and the next chapter will be up tomorrow!**


	11. Chapter 11: The Distressing Concern

**Mable: Chapter Eleven. Not much else to say without spoiling anything… I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Eleven: The Distressing Concern_

"Hey." Nine greeted as he sat down beside Seven. It was now sunset and the Stitchpunks were preparing to leave to return to the library. Soft music filtered into the surrounding area and lulled any negative thoughts into submission. Looking around, Nine could see that the others certainly were calm as well. One and Two were sitting some ways away talking amongst each other. Six was drawing on in the dirt to himself, substituting for paper. Five was searching through records and Eight was standing guard. Finally, the twins were keeping the record going.

Nine wasn't sure where Child had slipped off too, but was sure he was fine, so he turned to Seven. The female smiled in return, "Where'd you run off to?" He shrugged a bit, "Just took a short walk around. Trying to make sure nothing could sneak up on us." She released a soft bit of laughter, "That would be unfortunate for us, but it would be our luck." He then remembered her injury, "How is your head?" Seven ghosted her fingers over a sore spot right under the bird skull helmet, "Still tender, but I feel much better now."

"Great!" Nine beamed, before almost shyly retracting a bit. Even after the incident, after Seven had seemed to only see him as a friend, Nine still had a little bit of an infatuation with her. She acted like she didn't notice, but he wasn't entirely sure. Soon, One was standing, preparing to leave, and Nine hopped down from his perch on the phonograph, "Need some help?" He offered and she, though a bit reluctantly as she didn't like feeling like she needed help, allowed him to help her climb down from the phonograph.

Nine couldn't deny that it felt good to hold her hand in his, even if only for a few seconds. Thankfully he was able to hide it well. Unlike Five who was obviously dancing with one of the twins nearby. Nine guessed that it was Three, since they were spending so much time together. However, the dancing was odd, and instead of joyfully moving about they seemed to simply be holding each other, swaying only a little bit, which didn't seem like the dancing Nine had seen at all.

Still, he wished Seven would open up to allow him to do such. These urges were a lot weaker than before during the incident. He managed to come down to the world and realized that if he was to ever court Seven he would have to be incredibly patient. She didn't seem interested in a relationship at all. Sure, she was more than willing to show affection to the twins and even some of the others, but it never led to anything except innocent gestures.

That was almost a relief. Though Nine was suddenly inspired, by all of the recent changes, to begin attempting to court Seven once again. His plan was to move patiently and start by spending more time with her until she would begin reciprocating the feelings. As they began to walk with the others, Nine slipped in to stand beside her while smiling quite a bit, and waited to be there for her if she needed anything.

He had no idea that Child was watching the scene; Red optics glaring sharper than ever before.

* * *

It was dark when the library was reached and most of the Stitchpunks were ready for bed. Most didn't count Two who was insistent to find the book for Six and stayed in the library. Eight, feeling generous, stayed behind as well to watch him. The rest headed straight up the bucket lift. One made a straight line for his room where he disappeared inside. Six followed suite, tired enough that he was nearly limping down the hall. Four headed straight to her room, but Three lagged behind with Five, allowing him to walk her there.

Honestly, Five felt guilty about giving in to Three's desires, but couldn't argue with the fact that he enjoyed spending the time he had with her. The way her small hand rested in his own felt undeniably right, even if he still couldn't shake the feeling that what they were doing was entirely wrong. Still, nothing stopped him from gently lifting her hand and pressing a kiss to its top. She covered her face with the other hand in a shy fashion as her optics flickered in joy.

"Good night, Three." Five whispered softly and she flashed her own response before slowly entering into her bedroom. He watched her slip behind the curtains, moving fluidly, and realized that he had to have been wrong earlier. Three didn't move like a child anymore, she moved like an adult, like a very graceful adult that Five just happened to suddenly have the urge to embrace and shower with kisses.

In the long run, Five was a bit lovesick, never having been able to find someone willing to settle down. That was basically all Five wanted was to have a nice life and to share it with someone. To his surprise it seemed like Three was the only willing candidate and he was somewhat glad. That is, until he noticed Nine and Seven less than a few steps away watching the scene, to which he promptly stumbled back into his room.

Nine and Seven didn't really react at first, but then Seven laughed lightly, finding the entire incident amusing. "Alright, I'm heading to bed. Good night, Nine." She waved a bit and disappeared behind her own curtain. Nine then began to head after Five and entered behind him. Five was fixing his bag and Nine collapsed on his bed while dropping the Lightstaff to the floor. It was a tiring day, but it wasn't over.

Suddenly Child appeared, standing in the doorway. Nine sat up and Five looked over to see the male staring at the former, making all sorts of crackling noises with its eyes nearly constantly covered in static. The scene was a little disturbing to Five, but Nine was a little more used to this behavior, "Child?" The male just stood there, looking furious, but didn't say a thing. "Child, are you still upset about earlier?" Nine asked, confused at why that would still be a problem.

He soon pieced together that it wasn't that simple, especially when Child finally responded by turning and storming out of the room. They both stared after the Stitchpunk before Five asked, "Was… Was he upset?" Nine shrugged, "I don't really know." He didn't understand why Child kept going through these periods of acting strange, but the second he laid back down he made a sudden assumption. It was like in the morning when he wouldn't speak outside Nine's room, and Nine deduced that it involved his room.

This just happened to be the place where Nine had begun hiding the Talisman. Nine reached under his pillow and let his fingers brush the metal and wondered if his thoughts were true. He quickly shook them away; this was just a coincidence. It had to be just a terrible coincidence.

* * *

It was in the middle of the night and a few Stitchpunks were, unfortunately, still awake.

The first one was Three who found that something was wrong. Lying in her bed beside her sister's was how she slept every night, the twins' beds matching as closely as they did. The comforters were a soft pink color and were usually quite inviting for a tired Stitchpunk. Now, though, something was missing, and Three rolled over to face her twin. The beds were so close that they could actually touch, so she reached over and poked her.

"_Four." _Three communicated with her flashes. Her sister moved a bit, but was hesitant to awaken. _"Four?" _Three poked her harder and finally Four began to awake, though groggily, _"What's wrong?" _She asked as she looked over with a dazed look. Three pulled farther under her covers, _"I can't sleep." _Four was a little concerned and now completely rolled over to face her, _"Why?" _The other sister didn't know how to answer a question she didn't know the answer to and instead just stared away pitifully.

"_Is it Five?" _Four suggested knowingly and her sister covered her face, _"I miss him." _Three's words seemed to mystify Four in ways nothing else could. _"How can you miss him? He's right over there, in the Sanctuary, asleep." _Three didn't know how to explain something so trivial and shrugged a little, even though lying down, _"I know. I don't know why I miss him." _Four giggled and rolled onto her back playfully, _"Because you're in love! With Five!" _

She continued to softly tease and prod, causing Three to pout and sit up, _"I'm going to see him." _Four blinked in confusion, _"It's the middle of the night!" _ Three paused, and then continued, _"I have to see him." _Then, before Four could protest, Three began to exit the room. She crossed to Five's room and peered inside. Both Nine and Five were in their respective beds and Three felt a little shy before she approached the bed that housed the Healer.

Five looked quite relaxed as Three kneeled on the bed. She felt weird being in here with him asleep and decided to make it quick by leaning forward and letting her lips brush Five's patch. When he moved a bit, she rushed back out of the room, crashing into Four who was standing in the hall. Three panicked and insisted her sister to run, which triggered them both to disappear into the room, Three absolutely embarrassed and Four incredibly confused.

* * *

The next day Seven approached Five in the early afternoon with, "We need to talk." At first, the Healer was afraid that she was going to voice concern about him and Three being so affectionate. Instead, though, she continued with a quick, "I'm worried about Nine." Five was relieved and yet confused as he had not seen Nine during the daylight hours. He didn't know what could possibly be wrong when Nine was so relaxed the day before. "What's wrong?"

She looked away for a second before sighing, "He's been very quiet today. Two noticed it as well. Has he said anything?" Five shook his head, "I haven't seen him today." The Warrior exhaled and the healer perked, "Wait, something did happen last night." Seven perked and Five explained, "Child came in, he looked upset, and then he left." The female thought for a bit before speaking, "Well, honestly, we can't say much unless we figure out what happened. I'll go talk to Nine and you should talk to Child."

Before she could leave, Five stopped her, "Wait, Seven, wait!" He ran up before her, "Seven, I-I can't talk to Child." He insisted, "He doesn't- I don't think he likes me and- And he was really upset." Seven was insistent, "Please, Five. He's seen you more than he's seen me and I think you'd be less likely to say anything offensive." Finally, Five gave in, "Okay… I will…" He slowly lagged onwards as Seven went out to see Nine.

Five got to Child awfully quick. They were all down in the library, so he knew that he could be anywhere, but Child just happened to be relatively close. Five wandered up cautiously and waved to signal his approach. Child's reaction was a strict glare as though to make the Healer leave. Five didn't and stood his ground before sitting beside the other male, "H-Hey Child." Child's head dropped and followed by a pointed huff to signal that he wanted to be alone.

"Nine said you were in a bad mood." Five noticed the mixed up words, but Child caught it before he could correct it. "He said _what?!" _He demanded, crackling, extra limbs coming out, looking quite frightening. Five corrected it, "I meant; Seven said Nine was in a bad mood." Child seemed to immediately revert once again into quietness and Five decided to pry a bit more, "Why were you upset last night?" The darker colored Stitchpunk seemed hesitant to speak at first.

Then, finally, he spoke, "She is certainly beautiful, is she not?" Five blinked, "Three?" In fact, he hoped Child didn't mean Three, and the male shook his head, "The pale one, Seven, she is certainly lovely. Certainly determined as well. It is understandable that she would be loved by many. Any male would be overtaken by her gaze." The Healer didn't know how to respond, but began to realize that it was fortunate that Seven didn't come and speak to him instead of Nine.

"You think Seven is beautiful?" Five asked cautiously and Child turned his back on him, "Do you not think so?" Five attempted to come up with an answer, "Well… Yes, but I don't, I don't love her like that. She's like my sister." Child nodded slowly, "I see…" Then he suddenly seemed to relax, "Maybe I am being a bit too paranoid about this entire situation. Maybe she is not as charming as I am assuming she is." Five didn't understand what the other meant, but decided not to press farther.

Nine on the other hand was not nearly as vague with what was bothering him when Seven approached him, "He keeps getting angry and acting bizarre when around the Talisman." Nine explained and Seven was surprised, but seemed a bit hesitant, "Are you sure?" The zippered one shrugged, "Somewhat." This wasn't 'sure', but Seven couldn't say that she didn't have a slight feeling that this could happen, with Child's origins and such. "What are you going to do?"

"I… I don't know…." Nine muttered, "I just wish that it was gone. I know the Scientist made it, but I don't know why we have to keep it with us. It awoke the Machine, it lures beasts, it's just unsafe." Seven suddenly nodded, "I thought you meant Child for a second." Nine cracked a smile at this and sighed, "Maybe it's not that bad. Maybe there's a way we can try to live past this. Or… Maybe we could take it somewhere where the Beasts can't touch it and-."

Nine heard the footsteps and looked back. There stood Five looking concerned, "Five? Is something wrong?" Nine asked. The healer was confused, "Did… Did you say something to Child?" Nine huffed, "No, I don't know why he was acting like that last night." The healer shook his head, "No, Nine, he was just standing here. When I came up, he walked off, and wouldn't talk to me." Nine's face contorted in shock, "Creator, he must have heard what we said and thinks that we meant him. Here, I'll go-."

Seven stopped him, "I'll go explain what happened. You need to relax for a few minutes." She then strode off, Five hesitant to let her go after what Child had said earlier, but he decided to assist Nine who promptly stood. "I'm going to walk around a little. I need some air." He quickly hurried off, Five having this feeling that something was going to go wrong, and soon.

* * *

"So you are Psychic!" Two deduced, pointing at the word in the book, "This could be why you see things that we don't and definitely why you have been moving things with your mind." The realization caused Six to perk considerably, "So… So I'm not a freak?" The Inventor chuckled, "Of course not! Far from it; This is a gift. Though you will need to be careful and not overstrain yourself." He gently explained while Six looked down at the book with a smile.

It all made sense now, and it felt great. Two's optics moved over to Five who was just wandering up and gave him a nice smile, "Hello Five. Want to read with us?" Five seemed troubled, but smiled, and approached the two to also read. It was technically an activity done by all presently as the twins were also with a book nearby that One was carefully gazing over. Five hadn't sat down for more than a minute before Seven returned, "He's being stubborn."

"Yes, he's been reading everything they read to make sure their minds stay 'innocent'. I find it a bit obsessive, but if it makes him happy." Two explained, playfully, knowing that she meant something different, "Was it Child?" She nodded and leaned against a stack of books. "I went to tell him what he heard was wrong, but he refused to stop and listen." The older Stitchpunk smiled sympathetically, "He is going through a hard time, Seven. He's having trouble adjusting to life with us."

The Warrior silently agreed and turned to Five, "Where's Nine?" Five answered quietly and honestly, "Oh, he's just going on… A walk." Seven's eyebrows furrowed, "A walk?" That's when One suddenly flipped his head upwards, "A _walk? _Nine said he was going on a _walk?"_ The healer exhaled quickly, "I know… I thought it was a little strange too, because of his last walk and… And how far he got…But I didn't want to upset him anymore." Two still stayed hopeful, "Well then, maybe he's just in the Sanctuary-."

"He's gone." Eight signaled as he walked up to the others. One looked ready to explode, "How are you so sure?" The guard gestured back toward the entrance, "I was out at my post when Nine started to leave. I stopped him and told him that he couldn't leave unless I knew where he's going, after that he buckled quickly, said he was going to the First Room." Everyone's reactions were equally disturbed by the news and immediately One spoke, "He knows it's dangerous and yet he continues to leave! That fool has a death wish!"

"One, we know." Seven retorted before turning to Eight, "Keep watching the door in case he returns, I'll go after him." That's when another voice spoke up, "I will go after him." Seven wasn't very sure when Child had walked up behind her, but managed to show no surprise, only confusion, "You want to go?" Child retorted, "I am _going _to go, and I will be just fine going _alone._" He crossed past Seven; another obvious glare sent upon her, "That should be pleasing for you; with me being as far out of the picture as I can possibly be."

Seven didn't understand the comment, but did notice that Five looked away like he did, and straightened up, "You can't stop me from going, Child. He's my friend." Child turned on her, "And your desperate seeking of attention will not cause me to trust you with _anything_." The words seemed to crackle as he spoke them, like heated metal snapping and grinding, but Seven still refused to back down.

"Very well. We will hold your funerals at separate times so you do not have to be in close contact." One decided to slip in, before turning back into the leader again, "Go to the First Room, retrieve Nine, and bring him, and yourselves, back to us unhurt." Seven and Child seemed to suddenly get invested in their new mission deep enough that they were able to ignore each other. They left quickly, leaving the others to wonder if it really was as simple as it seemed.

"Eight, man your post. I will be moving the twins farther into the library. We can only assume that something will follow them back." He began to lead the twins away so Five and Two decided to follow. Six, however, stayed behind. "What are you doing here?" Eight asked, trying to force the hard tone he used to be able to have easier with the ragdoll. "Get moving." Six didn't move, though. "Can I stay with you… And wait for the others?"

Eight opened his mouth to give a firm 'no', so he was surprised when instead came out, "Fine. Just don't bother me or anything." The smaller smiled and followed behind, bringing with him an inkwell and piece of paper that must have been sitting unused beforehand. The Guard wouldn't have wanted to admit this until now, but Six wasn't that bad.

* * *

Child was being as difficult as One usually was. Walking so far ahead that Seven couldn't keep up, not speaking to her, and he even acted like she wasn't even there. Seven was beginning to get a little tired of the male's behavior. It was bad enough taking it from One, but taking it from someone she helped defend was incredibly agitating. She tried to speak out to him, "Child, about earlier-." But cut off when he would only walk faster ahead of her. He was definitely angry.

Eventually, once they began to near the First Room, she decided that she was ready to outwardly confront him. "Child." She spoke up, loudly to catch his attention, "What happened earlier was not what you think it was. Nine was talking about the Talisman, not you." However, Child didn't falter, and instead crossed his arms in only a pouting motion. "Believe me; we wouldn't think that about you. The Talisman has just been giving us problems and Nine wanted to vent."

"I know." The male voiced simply and Seven was dumbfounded, "You know?" He huffed, "Yes, I know, I know you were speaking of the Talisman. That has nothing to do with anything." With this Seven was even more determined to figure out why the other was being so difficult. Suddenly, it seemed to come to her, "I know what's wrong." He glared, "You don't." She insisted, "I do." And he growled before turning on her.

"Fine then, let me repeat exactly what you are thinking, a bit briefly because, frankly, I don't have the time for this and don't _want _to have the time for this." Child began abruptly, "You are suspecting from my constant contact between you and Nine, added with that I used to have white fabric, added with the shocking conclusion I am a male means that I have grown infatuated with you, that I have been feeling jealous when I see your stunning relationship with Nine. Honestly, I could certainly care less, and you are far off key."

He smirked at her pause, but she quickly followed up, "I am not ignorant, Child, and you are jealous." He turned away, "You are wrong." She retorted, "I am right. You are jealous, not of Nine, but of me. I'll tell you what's going on here. The only one you feel comfortable with communicating with is Nine and you think that I'm trying to keep him from speaking to you. Somewhere, you know that's not true, and you're really mad at yourself because you're having trouble adjusting."

"I adjust just fine." Child added, but sounded a bit lost in thought, as though he was contemplating what she said. They stood in a quiet limbo for a few seconds before she started to walk ahead, not expecting an answer. Only then did he abruptly speak, "You're right." She glanced over and he returned the gaze, it softening just a bit, "Unfortunately, you're completely right." To this, Seven actually smiled a little, and decided to speak again.

"How about this? I'll make sure Nine starts helping you get more settled in and you can stop acting like I'm evil." For the first time that Seven had witness, part of the metal of Child's mouth seemed to contort enough to make a smile, through a mix of moving metals, "Very well."

For a second, Seven felt like Child's friend, and surprisingly it didn't deteriorate.

* * *

**Mable: You know what I really can't stand? That moment when I finish a chapter and look down at the word count to see it's just below 4,000. Makes it feel incomplete… It bothers me non-stop until I write a never ending Author's Note to get me past the four thousand word count. It may sound pitiful, but it does manage to work. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter; the next one will be up tomorrow!**


	12. Chapter 12: The Coming Terms

**Mable: Chapter Twelve… Wow…. Oh! I've got a VERY important Author's Note at the end of this chapter if everyone would be so kindly to read it. Anyway, I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Twelve: The Coming Terms_

Sometimes it was a bit unnerving to be the only living thing in an entire empty world. Nine knew this feeling well and had dealt with it many times. Still he pushed on through the dangerous surroundings to arrive at the only place he deemed fit to hide something both dangerous and precious.

Nine crossed the length of the First Room to where he left the small box with the lock. Stopping at it, he unzipped his front and plucked out the Talisman, dropping it into the box. After Child's recent behavior change, with the Talisman being in Nine's belly, he decided he needed to take it out of the picture. The second he tossed the Talisman into the box, beginning to shut it, he heard something. Turning back, he expected he knew what was nearby.

"Child?" No answer and the zippered Stitchpunk began to look around, clearly hearing a scratching noise and trying to look for its origin. It soon led him to the window on the other side of the Workshop and Nine called to it, "Child? Did you follow me?" The scratching began to get more desperate and began to hit the door as though it was trying to break inside. Soon, Nine realized that it wasn't a Stitchpunk; as soon as he saw the claws poke through the window and pull back, ripping it open.

It immediately leapt inside, rolling across the workbench and landing on the floor. It was obviously a Cat Beast, but looked strange. There were extra jutting metal parts and it looked like something was on its neck. That's when Nine suddenly realized why its neck was bolted on so strangely; this wasn't a Cat Beast, it was the Cat Beast from the incident. It had to be from the way it stared down at him, letting out a deep growl and scratching its claws across the wooden floor beneath.

It was unbelievable to see this towering monstrosity before him and Nine could barely fathom it before it took a swipe at him. The claws hit a lot harder than they scratched and threw him a bit away, knocking him off of his feet. It wasn't patient enough to allow him to recover and began to bat him across the room like he was its toy. Every time he tried to stand it would swipe and knock him back down to the floor.

The last time Nine attempted to run, the Cat Beast swatted a bit too hard and flung Nine into the wall. He felt a sharp pain through his leg and afterwards could barely move it. He knew it wasn't superficial as Child's had been because it was obviously not just unable to move from the pain. Slowly, Nine tried to crawl away, only to hear the Cat Beast coming up from behind. Another swat fell upon his back and sent him skidding forward again, causing him to cry out in pain.

He was sure that the stitches on the back of his arm seam were torn and loathed the prospect of having another section of different colored stitches. That was the least of his problems though as the Cat Beast was coming upon him yet again. It reached down and bit him around the waist. It then released, looking up, and laid its claw upon Nine to keep him down. The pressure on his injured leg caused him to see white and temporarily black out.

The Cat Beast was looking up for a good reason, though. Running into the First Room were both Child and Seven who could clearly see the Beast overtop of Nine. Apparently the Beast recognized Seven as it turned upon her immediately, not noticing Child and not caring, running right up upon Seven and trying to leap at her. She dropped down and was able to barely skid underneath the dive of the Cat Beast which rolled and regained its pouncing position.

Child left the beast to her and approached Nine only to see how the male was obviously injured. His back stitches were sliced and his leg looked strangely, and he was unresponsive. At this second Child felt white hot anger and turned back on the Beats, rushing to leap upon it. He tried to bring his extra arms to use by driving the metal claws against the Beast, trying to pull it apart. It didn't very much work and the confused Beast tried to keep him off.

Seven then leapt upon the Cat Beast's leg and stabbed into it. The Cat Beast kicked her off and went to bring its claw down, her only barely managing to roll out of the way of the sharp blades. Child began to impale deeper and managed to get one of his sharp claws in near the Beast's neck, causing the Cat Beast to rear back in alarm. It managed to slam Child to the floor and, before it could attack more, Seven leapt upon it and stabbed into the neck.

It rolled over to get her off, but then began to move in a labored fashion, and decided to, bizarrely, retreat. Child attempted to take after it until he heard Seven's voice. "Nine!" She cried out in alarm and crouched beside him, the male beginning to slowly come to. "Seven?" Nine was in obvious pain and Child also walked up behind Seven to look down at him. The zippered male looked at them both before groaning, "I think that Cat Beast broke my leg." The second Seven touched it, he hissed, and she looked hopeful.

"I doubt it is broken, it is probably just out of place. We'll get you back to Two and he can fix you." Child wasn't nearly as ready to forgive, "What were you thinking?" He asked in absolute frustration and Nine exhaled, "I know, it was wrong, but I had to get-…" He cut off, realizing he was talking to the one who had been concerning him. "To get what?" Child demanded, before his ruby optics went to the box, seeing the Talisman inside, "To get rid of _that_?"

"Child, wait-!" Nine tried to sit up as his leg protested in pain and Seven held him back to keep him from injuring himself more. The darker Stitchpunk lifted the Talisman and scrutinized it before glancing to the zippered one, "You wanted to get rid of this… Because of this?" He tapped his port, "Because you think this thing is anything to me other than worthless metal?" He tossed it back into the box and Nine spoke up, "You were acting strange because of the Talisman."

"I was… This thing, this damn thing, it didn't-." When he cut off, Seven finished, "Nine, they were just coincidences. Child… That day when Three disappeared, Child was just confused, and the other day was just some mixed communication. The Talisman had nothing to do with it." The male too it in before he smiled up at her, "So… I broke my leg for nothing?" Child answered him, "Yes. Thankfully you admit this now or next time it could be multiple limbs."

Nine could tell he was smirking as he shut the box and managed to relock it once again. Still, the mood was light, and Seven helped Nine up, "Don't put any weight on your right leg." He hissed and the male rushed over, "Careful, his back is opened." Seven pulled her grasp back a bit and Child spoke, "You lead if that thing comes back, I'll carry him. Here, get on." He gestured to his back and the zippered male climbed on, even though a bit weary of the extra limbs.

Child hooked one arm under Nine's good leg and locked the other hand on the zippered male's backside to keep him held up. It was uncomfortable and awkward, but Nine seemed too pained to notice exactly how awkward it was. Seven did, though, and giggled under her breath which caused the other male to glare at her. Seven picked up the fallen Lightstaff that Nine dropped earlier and led the way out of the First Room.

Once back in the Emptiness, they tried to move quickly, and began to make good ground. However, it was interrupted by a loud howling noise. They all looked back and Seven hissed, "It's that Cat Beast! It's still following us!" It appeared out of nowhere and pounced at them, missing completely, but proving Seven's point. Child immediately began to move faster, sliding the extra limbs out to assist, while the Warrior went to leap at the Beast.

"What about Seven?" Nine asked quickly and Child didn't answer, instead continuing onwards. Surprisingly, the Beast seemed to not want anything to do with Seven and after throwing her off. He began to hunt after the fleeing Stitchpunks and Child suddenly made a decision. He managed to get to the remnants of a house and dropped the zippered male inside a large, gaping hole in the wall. "Stay here. Do not move under any circumstance." He commanded before circling around and heading back to attack.

Nine watched the two Stitchpunks attempting to fight this Beast and couldn't understand how it wasn't showing much damage. It had obviously been worked on by the Machine. The Cat Beast did manage to throw Child into the wall, but the male managed to stagger back. Nine was especially worried when the Beast got Seven pinned like he himself had been pinned. It glared down upon her and braced itself to attack, dealing with an attacking Child quickly.

In an instant, Nine knew he had to help, and looked for a weapon. He managed to find a shard of glass that looked sharp enough to be used as a weapon. Then he looked for a small rock and forced himself to limp to the opening. "Here kitty, kitty!" He called as he threw the rock as hard as he could. It completely missed the Cat Beast, but the machine still managed to notice him and started towards him.

Nine braced himself and waited until the Cat was close enough that he began to slash at the Beast. The glass shard didn't do a thing, especially when all Nine could slice was air, but luck managed to be on his side as the Cat Beast went to slam its paw in. While Nine was thrown back, the sharp glass managed to slip back between the metal of its arm and slice something. It raised its right paw only to have most of the claws unresponsive. Nine somewhat felt good injuring its leg like it had to him.

Now it finally decided that it could no longer attack and retreated. As it bounded away, Child dashed up, glaring at Nine again, "You have a death wish!" Nine huffed, "Well maybe, but at least it's gone!" They managed to break it up by time Seven wandered over, "We should get back to the library, before it fixes itself and comes back." Child, still annoyed, pulled Nine onto his back, Nine hissing as the metal hand slipped across his injured leg.

Child affixed his grip back to where it was the first time he carried Nine. Again, Seven felt the need to playfully smirk, though Nine wasn't sure why. The walk seemed much too long and on the way he began to slump on his carrier's shoulder. The last thing he could feel was a dazed, numb pain still throbbing in his leg before the world disappeared.

* * *

"Easy, easy, right on his bed."

"What about that cot in the workshop?"

"Well then, where will you sleep? I am sure he would prefer being in his own bed."

Nine's optics opened the second his back hit the bed. The pain in his leg was set in full force and he groaned a bit as his hands clenched. Instead of hearing those two voices again, he assumed it was Two and Child, he heard Five's voice, "Nine? How are you feeling?" Looking through blurred vision, Nine could see Five leaning over him, probably going into his 'healer' state of mind to work on him. The zippered one tried to make sense of the pain, "My leg is hurting really bad."

"How about your back?" Five asked, lifting Nine's shoulder a bit, and he was answered, "I can't really notice it over my leg… Hurts a little, I guess." Five laid him back down, "Two, I think we should work on the leg first, don't you?" The Inventor nodded at the suggestion, "I do believe you are correct, Five." Five looked back at him, watching as his mentor laid a hand on his shoulder, "Should we use a magnet?" Two nodded, "Excellent suggestion. Exactly what I was thinking."

Nine shook his head clumsily, "No, I don't need a magnet." He could hear Child beside him, "Nine, take the magnet." He looked up beside him to see the outline of a striped Stitchpunk. He blinked in confusion, unsure why the pain made his vision so poor, "Child, why are you striped?" The striped one looked around uncomfortable, "Nine… I'm Six." He heard from the other side of the bed a quick comment from Child, "I change my mind. He's already as delusional as he can get."

"He's just running a fever from the injury." Two explained, feeling Nine's head, "Hmm… Not too warm… Though I have had a few with such issues after such an injury. We should address it as soon as possible." He moved out of Nine's line of vision and returned with a square magnet, or Nine assumed it was a magnet. "Now just count to nine, Nine, and by then you should stop feeling the pain in your leg."

The Stitchpunk braced himself and began to mentally count. The second the magnet touched his head, the world began to fade out, and for an unknown amount of time he was in a magnetic blur. By time he started coming down he could only notice that the pain in his leg was much duller. The world faded back in and Nine looked around to see that the room was empty. Slowly, he began to sit up, and could feel that his back felt better as well. Looking at the back of his shoulder, he was relieved to see that Five used normal black thread, thus erasing a chance at any scars.

"Nine." Nine looked over to the door and could see Child standing there in the doorway. Nine smiled a little, "How long have you been here?" Child leaned against the doorframe, "I've been sitting in the hall for God knows how long. It was the only way to get One off my back about being alone with someone as high as you were." The burlap one laughed a bit, "Was I bad?" Child let out a visible smirk, "You kept mentioning how bizarre One's appearance is and he got offended."

This triggered another burst of laughing to which Child retorted, "And you are most definitely still high." Nine shook his head, "I'm fine. It just feels so much better in my leg that- Did Two ever say what was wrong?" Child nodded and came closer, "A metal part in your upper thigh was out of place. It wasn't completely out of place, which was why you could still move somewhat." He sat down on Five's bed, laying into a relaxed position.

"How long was I out?" Nine asked a bit tiredly and Child glanced over, "Did I indicate by 'God knows how long' that I knew?" After the cynical comment, he added in, "A few hours or so. Six already went to bed; he waited with me for a bit beforehand. I think Seven may have done so as well." Nine nodded and began to sit up again, "Maybe I should go tell Two I'm up." Immediately, Child was up as well, "I'll get him. He said you shouldn't be walking."

Honestly, Nine didn't want to be confined in bed, but was relieved when Two entered the room with his normal, cheerful demeanor. "Good to see you up already. How does your leg feel?" Five also hurried in to look Nine over. "It feels better." Nine replied, rubbing it a bit, "A little sore, but a lot better. My back feels great too." Two smiled proudly, "Thank Five. He did the stitches." Nine did so, but Five shyly shrugged it off, "Oh, it was nothing much, Two was the one to fix your leg."

"I had to climb above you and wrestle it into place again." Two explained, "Thankfully, your hip wasn't out of place, or that would have been a lot more painful and harder to fix." The zippered one nodded slowly before looking to the door. The twins were both peering in with Seven standing behind them. They entered the room in file where Seven immediately went to Nine's bedside. Nine even noticed Three went over to Five and smiled proudly, communicating with gestures that she was proud of him.

"How's your leg?" The Warrior asked, sitting on the bed beside him, and he smiled surely, "Doing a lot better, thanks to Two and Five." Two waved him off with a chuckle and Five sent a small smile of shyness as he was being petted on by Three still. "I'm glad. You had us worried." The Warrior explained before going serious, "Nine, maybe you should back down from the near death experiences for a while." Nine laughed at this and she smiled again before standing to leave the room. He watched her leave before turning to the others.

"So, in the next few days, Five and I will go out and find some replacement fabric. I saw a bit frayed on your wrists, so I will be going by that. Perhaps burlap… White...Should be simple enough." Two explained to Child who seemed to be paying half attention. Suddenly, One seemed to abruptly appear in the doorway. "It is getting late. You should be allowing him to rest, all of you." Obviously he was upset about something and Nine only assumed it was whatever he said in his delusion.

Two put his hand up in defense, "Alright, alright, I'm going to bed." Four left the room and Three began to as well, Five going with, "I'm just… I'm going to make sure Three… Gets to her room alright." The leader followed him with a sharp glare and only released him once he was out of sight. Two soon disappeared out of the room and One looked to Nine, a bit gentler, "Get some rest." Then looked to Child, "And you?"

"I'll leave in a bit." The dark male responded before turning to look in a completely different direction. He did not look back to face One again and the leader decided to simply leave him be before exiting the room. Once he was gone, Child looked back over, and then finally stood to leave. Nine stopped him once he got to the door, "Hey Child?" Child glanced back, "Yes?" The zippered one ran out of words, staring at the other, and then saying, "I don't want to be alone." Child didn't catch his meaning, "Do you want me to get Five?"

"No… He's busy with Three. I don't want to bother him. I would've asked Seven, but I knew she was tried." Honestly, that wasn't the case. He was just embarrassed to ask the Warrior to do something that seemed so childish. He planned to ask Two, but One had ushered him out too fast. "Stay with me?" Child gave this weird look of surprise, it didn't falter, but he did finally answer, "Fine. If you insist." He then crossed to Nine's bed, "Move over."

Nine furrowed his brows, "I meant you stay on Five's bed." Child answered in exasperation, "Fine, but when he returns I will have to leave." As he turned away, he could hear Nine mutter, "I was there when you were alone." Child finally just put his hands up in finality and sat down on the floor beside Nine's bed. After a few seconds, he muttered under his own breath, "Yes, this was definitely worth leaving Five's bed for, a hard, dusty floor." He turned to Nine, "Are you happy now?"

The other could only roll onto his back, "It's not that bad. After the Incident, we spent a week sleeping in a bunch on the Library floor. That was really uncomfortable." He then felt a jolt of pain in his leg and realized how stiff it felt. He tried to rub it pitifully to help, but it didn't seem to do much at all. Instead, he decided to speak, "I'm sorry about everything. About the Talisman, about the Beast, I'm sorry."

He looked down to Child who looked away, "I see…Yes, I apologize as well for using such a brash tone with you." Then he changed tones, "However; I was right." Nine smiled again, "You just can't give up!" In response, Child managed to smile as well. That's when Nine remembered what Child had asked a few minutes prior and went serious, though still smiling, "Yes." The other looked at him as though he was still delusional, "Yes what?"

"Yes, I'm happy. For the first time in a while I'm actually happy with this. With everything." With those words his vision began to dim and Child allowed him to fall asleep without saying a word. Once he noticed Nine was completely gone, he stared down at the floor, metal hands rubbing each other. "…So am I."

* * *

**Mable: This was supposed to end here, but there's been a change of plans. Instead of continuing this in a sequel, I decided to continue this fic to be much longer running, instead broken into multiple story arches that manage to tie in together. As such, the Stitchpunks will face more threats in the coming chapters. Because I have gotten this far, and finished a story arch, I am going to take a week to get my head together and be back with daily updates next Thursday. Not all story arches will be twelve chapters, but all will tie together.**

**On another note, tomorrow is my birthday! ^-^ **

**Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed, and I will be back next Thursday with more daily updates! Thank you for reading so far!**


	13. Chapter 13: The Dark Clouds

**Mable: And thus the daily updates begin again! I hope everyone enjoys and I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls run Deep**_

_Chapter Thirteen: The Dark Clouds_

It had been a few days since Nine's injury and Child was accepted officially into the Stitchpunks' family. It was early in the morning and most of the Stitchpunks hadn't yet gotten up to face the day. Two and Five were wide awake, though, and preparing to leave. Three was also awake, saying goodbye to Five while she was quite tired, but Five accepted it with a smile and slipped her a small kiss on the forehead.

For him, Two pretended that he didn't notice. "We shouldn't be out long. We're just heading to that tailor shop down the way. We should be back with the fabric in only a bit." He smiled as the two broke and watched Five enter the lift. The healer waved at the young librarian who waved back at him. Soon they were out in the Emptiness. It was a bit of a walk to the abandoned clothing store, in the area where the building stood more firm, but Two and Five took the time to speak.

"I don't know how to explain it." Five admitted, "I feel really good when I'm around her, like I'm floating, but my head is spinning, and I just want to hold her close and… I don't know." Two smiled and rested a hand on his apprentice's shoulder, "I understand Five. You may not realize it, but I am pretty sure you are in love with her." Five abruptly stopped as Two kept walking, taken aback. "Love- Wait, Two, I-I don't-."

"It certainly sounds like it." Two persisted; seemingly glad about it, "Love certainly is powerful and unpredictable, overtaking those in its path, especially young love…" He started to sound a bit lost in his thoughts and Five wondered what led him in to such a state. "Two… Have you ever been in love?" The Inventor paused as though he didn't know how to answer, "Well I… I know very much of love and… Yes, I suppose I have been in love."

Five perked up, "With whom?" Two actually did something that the Healer never expected; he actually stuttered. It was like he was almost as shy as Five was and quickly waved it off, "I-It is not important. Instead, let us look at the task at hand; replacing fabric. It will be difficult. Perhaps we should keep him completely under, using a stronger magnet?" Five agreed, but couldn't steer his mind from the thought of Two being in love. Honestly, he had a good feeling he knew who the Stitchpunk of his affection was.

They made it to the Tailor Shop where Two began to seek out strong fabric, anything close to burlap, and continued to avoid any mention of the earlier question. That was, until Five was alerted by the distant sound of rumbling and he jumped a bit. Two quickly spoke up, "Sounds like rain. Perhaps we'll get a bit wet on the way home." He seemed barely concerned and the Healer looked up to him, "There may be lightning if there's thunder."

"Well…" Two thought, then smiled, "Let us work quickly and we'll head home before the storm moves in." Five was relieved and agreed by going to assist his mentor. Neither expected anything more.

* * *

"Steady." One was actually filling in for Two as the Inventor was absent. The Leader wasn't too eager and much too overprotective to really be helping. However, he did allow Nine to lean against him as he started to put weight on his foot for the first time in days. For the last few days Nine had desperately attempting to begin walking again, but until today it had been hurting too bad to walk long.

He felt confident as he realized that the pressure didn't pain his leg as bad. "Okay, I think I can do it." One slowly released Nine until the Stitchpunk was standing alone. It was a shaky stance that seemed close to faltering, but Nine still stood solidly. One then handed Nine the Lightstaff to steady himself. "We will walk out to the throne room. If you have any pain like yesterday then we will stop and come back." The younger groaned, "I can't stay in this room anymore. I'm afraid I'm going to go insane."

One said something under his breath, but Nine wasn't sure what, and the two exited the room. Nine moved quite slowly and once in the hall was approached by Seven. "You're walking again! How does it feel?" Nine smiled and One answered, "Do not keep him still too long or you could bother his leg to the point that he will not be able to walk again." The pale female slowly inhaled and waited for him to leave. "I hate when he purposely tries to rile me." She pointed out, "Like he wants me to fight with him."

"I guess nobody fights better than you." Nine responded playfully and Seven gave a mock glare before smiling as well. Before anything else could occur, they exited into the throne room. Seven immediately noticed that Eight was entering the bucket lift and that Six was already inside. She felt disturbed at the connection, but couldn't do a thing as they quickly began to descend.

The vent window was opened to let in a cool breeze that felt quite comfortable. The twins were nearby looking at Six's drawing that were left behind by the Artist; Four was seemingly trying to keep her sister's mind off of the missing Stitchpunk. Nine could clearly see Child pacing on the opposite side of the throne, seeming to be lost in thought, and decided to simply wave to him.

"Why don't you go talk to him or the twins?" Seven suddenly suggested and Nine looked back in alarm, "Why?" She was solemn, "I have to do something for a bit." The zippered one shrugged it off, understanding and able to feel better when Seven faked a smile to him. As soon as he approached the twins, she turned to the throne where One sat there, staring out into the library, and acting as lost in his thoughts as Child was. He straightened as soon as Seven approached.

"Yes?" He was waiting for a fight to begin, bracing himself, and Seven knew it. Instead she decided to stay calm; it wasn't One who she was angry at. "Do you know what Eight has been doing?" She asked and he seemed a bit confused, "Eight has not been doing anything out of the ordinary from what I have noticed." She shook her head, "I wouldn't think anything was wrong either, but I saw it happen and… The other day I caught Six and Eight together."

One immediately remembered a similar situation only a bit ago where he caught Six in Eight's room, "Yes, continue." She didn't want to have to go to him for help, but she had no choice. She was afraid handling it herself would only end up making it worse. As well, if One was going to be immediately be convinced by Eight then she wanted to get to him first. "I heard Eight telling Six that he, in short, had something against him that if you knew would cause you to get rid of Six."

The Leader showed a bit of confusion and perhaps recoiled as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "He's using whatever this is to make Six do something." Slowly the leader's look turned to anger, "What is he making him do?" Seven shook her head, "I'm not sure, but I know it can't be to pleasant, knowing how much Eight taunts Six." One finally stood, "I knew something was amiss." Seven blinked, "You did?" One nodded, "I certainly did! I caught them acting oddly in Eight's room the other day and knew that they were hiding something."

"What are you going to do?" Seven asked and One stood to his feet, "I will be going down there right now to demand-!" He cut off when he was interrupted by a boom of thunder. He tried to cover the look of sustaining surprise with a look of frustration, "Nine- Child- Someone shut that window!" However, the group was staring outside before Child spoke, "You may want to come take a look at this." One huffed and hurried over before looking out at the sky.

He was surprised to see how dark the sky was growing, rumbling and dark, and suddenly his mind changed, "Two and Five will need to hurry if they plan to make it back before the rain." Nine was hesitant, though, "Maybe someone should go out and get them." He suggested, but was abruptly turned down, "That is foolish, Nine. They will be back when they come back. We going out there will not accomplish a thing."

Nine was preparing to insist, but decided he was in no condition to travel anyway, so he decided to simply wait.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Eight and Six had no idea about the rain. They were standing outside the front of the library, but the weather was the last thing on their mind. Six felt uneasy as the other walked before him and put a good deal of distance between them. "You've got to learn how to control this thing against something that moves." Eight insisted, unsheathing his knife to be threatening and circling Six, "Throw something at me."

Six seemed hesitant to do so, "Eight… I don't want to-." Maybe Eight was really angry or maybe he was simply riling Six, but he began to speak, "Come on, Freak, I've seen you throw things before. Don't back down now." Six didn't think he meant it, but the names began to do what Eight wanted, and Six began to grow upset. He looked at the ground and Eight huffed, "Don't do that 'hurt' thing either. I warned you that I wasn't letting you off easy and you were stupid enough to go along with it.

Immediately, Six's mood changed again, but instead of feeling sad he was beginning to feel different. The more Eight taunted, the more this hot feeling grew, and not a pleasant one. Six only recognized it as anger as Eight's next comment was thrown. "I shouldn't have even agreed to this. What was I thinking taking someone like you and trying to make you do anything. Can't do anything but draw, and that's not even that decent."

Six felt the anger suddenly flare and a nearby rock flew in an uncontrolled direction. Six hadn't even been trying and Eight noticed such, "Well that was something-." More rocks began to just move a bit. "Yeah, there you go." Eight encouraged, the taunting immediately stopping, and it was obvious that he was purposely trying to rile Six. "Now actually throw something at me." When nothing came, Eight huffed, "Listen, I we agreed that-."

Suddenly something hit Eight. It was completely invisible so he only realized once he was on the ground that he had simply been shoved by Six's mind. The Artist's anger dropped at that second, even though it was pretty miniscule anyway, and he rushed up. "I'm sorry- I didn't mean to!" He looked like he was close to panicking and Eight quickly stood, "You see, that's what I wanted to happen." Then added in, "I can't believe you got me off my feet."

"I'm sorry." Six apologized again and the Guard seemed relatively passive about the entire thing. In fact, he looked pretty proud, "No, you were supposed to fight me. Now we just have to hope any Beast is going to start yelling at you before you fight it." This got a smile on Six's face and honestly Eight was glad to see it. Then he braced himself once again and lifted his knife in defense. Before he could tell Six to come again, something hit him in the head, something wet.

Both looked up to see that it was beginning to rain. Before they could move inside, as neither wanted to get soaked and heavy from water logged fabric, it began to downpour. They managed to get in quick enough that they weren't too wet. Six noticed something was wrong and looked at the sky, "Look how dark." Eight looked up as well, "That's going to be one hell of a storm. It's coming quick too; let's get up into the Sanctuary before it gets worse."

He noticed when the Artist stared outside quietly. It was almost like he saw something in the clouds. "You see something?" Honestly, the Guard didn't know whether he meant seeing with his optics or the other 'sight', but either way Six just turned to follow him. "No… I'm okay…" They boarded the lift and Eight turned the crank until they rose back to the Sanctuary. At that second, One seemed to appear before the lift, looking stern and studying the two.

"And where, pray tell, have you two been?" Six felt nervous under the Leader's gaze; fearing he would figure out what was going on and send him away. Eight managed to keep his calm, though. "Went down to see if they got back. I walked out a bit, but it started coming down." One was glaring sharply at him and Eight felt a bit small under the shorter Stitchpunk's gaze. They were interrupted by Nine, "Look how hard it's raining." Nine suggested as he pushed the vent window open and One huffed, "I told you to keep that bloody thing closed!"

"Look at it." Seven murmured as she stared out. It was raining harder than they had ever witnessed, and slowly they began to feel more concerned. Especially Nine who spoke up, "We can't leave them out there in this! What if they are in danger?" One seemed to completely ignore him, "Nine, it is just rain, nothing more. Now Eight, what exactly were you doing-?"

Nine huffed, frustrated, and began to limp out of the throne room. Seven watched after him, quietly, and she knew he was frustrated. However, she decided to stay and listen to what One was going to get out of Eight. Though, from how dodgy Eight and Six were being, she doubted they would get any answers. Nine stormed into his room as best as he could and immediately began to look around for something, anything, and eventually looked to his blanket.

Doubling it over, he began to tie it about his shoulders like a cape, and was only interrupted by the sound of a voice, "You're leaving?" Nine looked back to see Child standing in the doorway, and paused. "Are you going to stop me?" He countered and the other gave him a quizzical look, which probably meant that the answer was a 'no'. "Yeah, I'm going. I can't sit here while Five and Two are out in this."

"Do you think you can help a thing?" The other continued cynically, "Do you expect to stop the rain? Or do you believe your leg will magically heal the second you step out of the Sanctuary?" Of course he began to bring up the same doubts that Nine didn't want to hear, but the Stitchpunk merely threw his blanket down on the bed. "Maybe I can look around and see them nearby… If I knew where they went I could go and get them."

"They went to wherever Two calls 'the Tailor Shop'." Child pointed out and Nine remembered the location immediately. However, he also noticed that Child had bluntly given it to him, "Why did you tell me if you're trying to convince me not to go?" The other male leaned against the frame, "I'm not convincing you not to go. I am merely questioning your plan. You know it's dangerous and yet you're still willing to attempt it; interesting." He suddenly seemed to be studying Nine, even when the other male faced away and all he could see was his back.

"Don't do that." Nine spoke quietly. He didn't want to admit it, but he suddenly had an ill feeling of déjà vu, with red optics staring upon him. As though he was standing with the Machine. Thankfully, the other directed his vision to the wall, "Besides. It is very obvious that you cannot go alone." Nine huffed and turned around, "I'm tired of everyone acting like I can't do something without messing it up. I can do _something_."

"Nine," Child began passively, "this is the first time you've walked in how many days?" Nine backed down a bit as he remembered exactly what was holding him back. "I did not suggest you couldn't be alone. I was suggesting that you shouldn't be alone, and contemplating if I should come as well." The zippered one smiled, "We might be able to move faster with the both of us. It would be safer, too." This seemed to convince Child enough, though he didn't exactly seem hesitant, and the two soon headed back into the throne room.

Surprisingly, Child was more than willing to lie on behalf of Nine's sake, or at least managed to twist his words in a way that wasn't a lie. "We will be heading down to see if Two and Five have returned." He explained, and that was technically what they were going to do. One, meanwhile, was still trying to grill and unmoving Eight and decided to allow them by without much trouble. Child even turned the crank and Nine was glad to be able to rest against the lift and off of his foot.

They soon arrived at the Library below and began to head towards the exit. Once there, Nine could only stare at the heavy rainfall, and then Child passed him by, "Are you coming?" Nine tensed up before walking after him, "Yes… Yes, let's go…" They then started out into the wet Emptiness.

* * *

Two finally managed to find enough fabric and Five packed it into his bag as the Inventor crossed to the entrance of the Tailor Shop. Looking outside he could see the rain pouring down and exhaled with a smile. While it was a bother, certainly, rain was a comfort since bringing them back to life. Rain meant rebirth. That was, until Two noticed something. There was more water expected pooling on the ground.

Small streams seemed to be coming from everywhere and every little rivet was now submerged in rainwater. Only then did Two know that this wasn't just normal rainfall and gasped, "Five!" He called to his apprentice, "Five, we have to get back to the Sanctuary! It's flooding!"

* * *

**Mable: Thank goodness Two and Five aren't the kind to swear. Anyway, I will have the next chapter up tomorrow, as promised, and I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	14. Chapter 14: The Torrential Downpour

**Mable: I don't know much to say… So I'll just keep quiet and move onward. I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Fourteen: The Torrential Downpour_

Nine was beginning to regret coming out into the storm. The wind was becoming even more uncontrollable and the rain was becoming heavy against his burlap. Child didn't seem to have any trouble, his metal body sleek enough to slip through the rain without harm, though all limbs worked away as he hunted about. Though Nine found himself only looking to Child because it was the only thing he could make out in the stormy weather surrounding them. He only was barely able to lead them towards the Tailor's Shop.

"Which way?" Child called and Nine looked up, "What?" The other male directly gestured to the half visible road ahead of him and the burlap one thought. "Two said it was to the East." The darker Stitchpunk wasn't amused in the slightest, "Should I check the location of the sun to check East? Oh, wait, there is no sun." Nine huffed and passed the other, "It's this way, I'm sure it is." He began to start limping ahead down the road.

There were a few cars either resting on the road or turned over on their top. Nine found his optics lingering to them for a brief time as he wondered if they'd be dry inside. He wanted a break, to rest, but wouldn't admit it to Child who was only a few steps behind him. That's when Nine's foot slipped from the side of the road, they were walking near the edge, and Nine found himself tumbling into a ditch.

Once at the bottom he found himself falling into a puddle of water. It wasn't much water and was more a thick muck that he thought smelled foul. He then heard this clunking sound like clattering metal, added with some sort of voice, and soon Nine looked back. He soon realized that was the disturbing sound of Child laughing at him. He was actually laughing and Nine suddenly felt very embarrassed. He could hear Child coming up behind him while keeping himself above the muck with his Machine limbs.

"Yeah, I fell, very funny." He retorted to cover up how foolish he felt for falling. Child stopped laughing and Nine started to stand, his leg aching, "Can you help me?" No answer and Nine glanced back to see that Child was staring forward, unmoving. With eyebrows furrowed Nine looked forward and fell backwards onto his backside. The muck went ignored and the zipped one released a cry of alarm from what he saw.

It was a body of a human. Just a normal human that had died in the war, but it looked quite grotesque. Its eyes were sunken in like a skull even though it looked like some flesh still remained. That was what was odd about the poison; killed immediately but sometimes still managed to preserve the body. Nine slowly managed to regain compositor and stood shakily. "It's just a body." At that second he heard sudden shuffling and looked over to catch a glimpse of Child climbing back up the slope as fast as he could.

"Child?" Nine called after him and soon, to his horror, realized the other wasn't planning on coming back. "Child!" He was becoming desperate and got himself back up the slope only to catch another glimpse of the Stitchpunk in the direction of the library. Unfortunately, Nine didn't want to go alone in his condition, and managed to pick up his Lightstaff and begin to limp home. Unsure why the other was so quick to abandon him in the Emptiness.

Upon arriving at the Library he could see that much had changed since the short time ago that they had left. The others were now down in the Library. Seven was keeping a close watch by the door while Eight and Six were helping the twins move books into the back. Nine soon recognized that this was from the water that was starting to leak in, almost covering his feet by now. Before Nine could speak to Seven, One ambushed him, "Where were you?!"

Nine decided to get the yelling over with and faced One's glare straight on with an honest look, "I went to look for Two and Five." Suddenly, the Leader's gaze shifted, "Did you see any sign of them?" Nine had not heard One's voice sound so distressed since the Incident and began to feel a rising fear with it. Even One knew that they were both in danger. "No… But I didn't get too far." Nine explained, "I fell down into a ditch and we saw a body, he ran back here, and I couldn't go alone."

"I have decided that they cannot be out there any longer." One insisted, "We will all be going to search, and while I am disappointed that you would leave without my consent, this is not the time to worry about such trivial matters." Both Nine and Seven looked shocked at the sudden change. One noticed and straightened himself, "We are leaving shortly, with or without you both, prepare yourselves." He then crossed over to help the others move books, or at least monitor their efforts.

"Which way did Child go?" Nine asked Seven and received the answer from the twins who both pointed in the direction of the pool. He nodded and headed in that direction while Seven went to approach the working group. "Which of these are we supposed to save?" Eight asked, staring down at the books that, to him, looked all the same. Four eagerly began to tap a few books in particular before pointing into the back of the Library where higher, sturdier shelves remained. The Guard got the message and began to move them.

Three, however, was obviously distressed. While she worked she continued to stare out the entrance of the Library and hoped that eventually she would see Two and Five enter. At one point she ran straight into One and found herself flashing apologies as quickly as she could, incredibly embarrassed, but One did not reprimand her as he would have to one of the older Stitchpunks. After this point she managed to focus back on her work, _"He'll be back soon, but if we don't move these now the water will destroy them all!"_

It was at the shelf that Eight and Six suddenly began to get other ideas. There was now a good stack of books resting there and the shelf was high enough that Eight would have some trouble reaching it. All he had to do was look to the Artist and he knew they were both thinking the same thing. Without any commands, Six lifted a single book with his Telekinesis and began to push it towards the shelf. He found, shockingly, that his head only barely ached now. In fact, it actually felt a little good to use this, as though he was stretching a limb that had been unused for quite some time.

"Doing well." Eight coaxed, "Just do one at a time." Six placed the book on the shelf before he looked over, "I can do more." Eight shook his head, "It'll get you tired too quick. I'd rather you did a good job than a fast one." Something about the comment inspired Six, maybe the word 'good', and he was insistent to do the best job he possibly could. He did start to rush a bit at times and every time he did such, Eight would slow him down, and soon most of the stack was now located on the shelf.

Six was in the middle of moving a particularly heavy book, Eight standing behind him, when a voice suddenly broke out, "What is going on here?" It was One and both looked back in horror to see him. Six felt his insides go cold as the book fell to the ground. There came the Guard with a cover up, "I was- throwing books. Didn't want to have to climb up there." He then picked up the fallen book and attempted to throw it onto the shelf. It was awkward, looking nothing like the Telekinesis, but Eight pretended like it was exactly identical.

One, however, seemed to become very annoyed. "You two should be moving these books to safety, not toying around with what 'innocent' act you two claim to be taking part in. Eight, you should know better than this." He then looked to them both, "These books hold infinite knowledge. What will you tell your children when they ask why there are only a few books remaining?" This question caused both Six and Eight to stare in utter confusion. One, however, turned on his heel, "Finish this up and prepare to leave."

As soon as he was gone, Eight just turned to Six, "What did he think we were doing over here?" Six had a feeling that he didn't exactly want to know and instead decided just to stay quiet, slowly beginning to start lifting the books again. Eight only decided to say, "If he would've noticed he would've said something. I don't think he saw what you were doing." This should've been a relief, but instead something made Six feel wrong, like he was lying to his family.

Meanwhile, Nine had managed to find Child by the pool. He was kneeling down, staring at the water that was beginning to overflow, uncaring that he was in water. The zippered male exhaled and came closer to the other Stitchpunk, "Why'd you run?" He asked, tiredly, but was met with no answer. He walked up to Child and peered around him only to notice something was odd. Child's scarlet eyes had diminished and now simply looked like normal optics. They were also a bit unfocused and the male looked away.

"Yes… I'm fine." Child stated cautiously and Nine wasn't bought off, kneeling beside him, "Are you okay?" Child didn't respond and instead was making raspy breathing noises. Eventually, after Nine put his hand on his shoulder, he choked out, "Did you see his face? That look permanently inked upon his face. Features permanently contorted into a look of terror…." He stared down at the ground below, "I didn't want this…"

"What do you mean?" Nine asked, confused. Child continued to simply repeat quietly, "I didn't want this to happen. They were terrible, selfish creatures, but they didn't deserve this. What have I done?" Around this time, One's voice spoke up, "We will be leaving shortly." He warned the two and Nine gave a nod of understanding. "I'll be there in a second." He then looked back to Child after One wandered away, "You stay here with the twins."

Suddenly, the red color returned, and Child seemed to come back, "I am alright. I just need a minute." Nine shook his head, "No, Child, it's fine. Someone needs to stay behind and make sure that the twins can move the rest of the books without getting hurt." Then he repeated, "Just… Just stay here and rest, okay?" Finally, without looking over, Child seemed to be willing to back down, "Yes."

"Alright." Nine smiled, "We'll be back as soon as we find Five and Two." He stood and promptly slipped on the water, nearly falling and only stopping himself by catching his hand on Child's shoulder. He pointedly decided to not address it as the other Stitchpunk did so with a pointed huff. Nine patted his shoulder with a lopsided smile and began to head off to find the others.

Shortly later the group of Stitchpunks, led by One, exited the library. The rain was only growing heavier with every passing moment and they began to tread onwards through the unpredictable environment.

* * *

Two and Five were not doing much better. They had left the Tailor Shop and began to attempt to get home, only to have their efforts somewhat backfiring upon them. It was especially difficult when the two had to pass through an area where the water was up to their waists. Looking ahead, Two could see the slope that would take them to normal ground and could see that it was the best chance they had. He pointed to it and beckoned Five to follow, as speaking could barely be heard over the rainfall.

Water ran down the slope in rivets and Two managed to duck and weave over such to find the best footing while Five just suffered through head-on. Surprisingly, he wasn't the one who ended up falling to his knees. The healer rushed forward to the Inventor who managed to quickly stand, "I'm fine, don't worry, I just slipped." He gave a small, forced smile to show such. Still, though, Five was worried, "Should we try to find shelter?"

"I don't know if we can." Two pointed out by nearly screaming to have his voice merge past the rainwater, "This entire area could be completely flooded in less than an hour. The Sanctuary should be high enough for us to avoid the water." That's when Five suddenly asked a solemn question, "Can we drown?" Two was taken aback, having never really thought of this. Humans could drown and Stitchpunks were very similar to humans so it was possible.

"I don't know." Two answered quietly. He began to slowly coax Five back up the slope through the heavy rain about them. Once at the top they were both disheartened to see no sign of the Library, even though neither really believed it was this close. The sky was even darker along their forward path, a thick and dismal grey, and Five even caught a glimpse of lightning out of the corner of his optic. It was followed by a heavy crackle of thunder.

The Stitchpunks continued along by the dilapidated houses, attempting to take cover underneath them. Instead they were just hit by water running off the roof, somewhat dirty, and landing upon their heads and backs. That was around the time when Two abruptly stopped beside a building. "Look." The Inventor commanded, pointing nearby, and Five looked in the crack of the crumbling wall to see red lights coming from inside.

He pulled back quickly, "Beasts?" He asked quietly, fearfully, and Two nodded, "Yes… Interesting; they seem to know that the weather is acting up. That's why they're hiding from the rain. Which is odd, I know water doesn't bother them." The Inventor stared inside a bit longer before the Healer spoke up, "They could be dangerous, we should keep going." Five suggested and Two nodded, "Yes, you're right, let us continue."

With that, they continued on, trying to survive.

* * *

"Look at that." Seven voiced in surprise as she stared at the gaping stream, nearly the size of a river to them, that hadn't been there before the rains started. One peered down at it and shook his head, "If we do not hurry, the entire Emptiness will begin to appear as dense." His head tilted up and scanned the surroundings. He knew they were still far from the Tailor's shop and was becoming more concerned.

Eight came up behind Nine who stood beside Seven, swaying, and shook his head. "This is bad. I'm going to sink to the bottom of that." One spoke up, "You will not have a chance. If we make haste, we can return before the water rises anymore." He gestured to the others, "Come along." None of them argued with him and began to follow along beside the river. Six stared into it curiously, watching the brown water flow, and felt a weird feeling in his insides.

He rushed up ahead to Eight's side. "Eight?" Eight immediately was going into his normal, uncaring view of Six that he kept when they weren't training. "What?" The Artist looked down, "I've got a bad feeling… I think we shouldn't be by the water… Someone could fall in." The Guard huffed, "Nobody's going to fall in." He corrected before beginning to walk quicker to be right behind his leader. Six found his mismatched optics falling to the ground beneath his feet; unable to shake the feeling.

They continued along on their way to find the Tailor Shop. It was only a little farther down the way that something stopped them. "Do you hear that?" One asked, backing a bit. Listening closely, there was the sound of something nearby, a great flapping noise. A sudden gust of wind passed by the group, hard enough that all of the Stitchpunks had to brace themselves in place. It was relentless with the heavy rainfall and One was able to look up just in time to gasp, "Get down!"

It looked like a piece of tin ripped from an old roof and flew through the air above them after being knocked from a nearby building. Eight immediately pushed One and Seven down, as they were closest, and ducked his head. Nine also dove to the soft earth and waited as the tin crashed to the ground some ways behind him. Right after, his head popped up to look around.

Eight lifted up to let One and Seven go free. "How'd that come at us?! It was just wind!" One looked up at the roof he suspected to have released the tin, "Incredibly fast wind, incredibly heavy wind; I cannot fathom why the weather is like this! It is as though it is the end of days!" The Warrior stood to her feet first and brushed herself off as she waited for the gusts to slowly die down, "One, calm down, it's just weather."

"Just weather?" One demanded, using his staff to stand, "Just weather?! This is not _just weather_! This is dangerous, even by your reckless standards!" The Warrior glared back, "Well what should we do, One?! Go back to the Sanctuary and hide while Two and Five suffer out here?!" Thankfully, Eight didn't take sides when it involved Seven and One, and was shockingly the one trying to get between them, "Boss, Sev, come on. We're all a bit freaked out after that metal nearly chopped our heads off."

Nine looked back at Six to see him pushing himself up off the ground from his position beside the river and then looked back to the others. "Eight's right." He chimed in, and finally One and Seven seemed to break up their fighting. "We need to continue onward." Seven insisted and One added in, "I was never suggesting that we stopped. I was merely suggesting…" There was the sound of moving dirt and a cry, then a splash.

They all turned around to see a small blur of stripes being carried down the river. Six's head popped out at the last second, sputtering and crying out, grabbing at the edge of the river. Seven practically dove into the water, throwing her spear and helmet to the side, and tried to swim towards the smaller male. Being the only one able to swim, she wasn't going to let Six drown. Instead, though, he began to drift away.

Even Eight suddenly began to run along the river, able to outrun both One and Nine, but soon he saw only Seven starting to climb out of the river. He ran by to chase after Six and Nine and One helped him up. Seven was coughing, "I couldn't get to him in time!" With those words, Eight could only watch as Six disappeared out of sight, and realized that the Artist had been right.

Eight had never felt more like a fool.

* * *

**Mable: Poor Six! Will he be alright?... We shall see, in the next chapter, tomorrow. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	15. Chapter 15: The Drowning Hope

**Mable: Well, here's chapter fifteen, and… I don't know what to say. I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Fifteen: The Drowning Hope_

Five could only feel concern as he heard Two let out a soft cough. "Two? Are you okay?" He asked caringly and the Inventor waved it off, "Yes, I just…" He coughed again, "I just got a little water in my mouth and it is irritating me." They decided to stop and try to rest under an old car, if only for a minute, and Five was growing more concerned with the situation. The two were huddled together and both were shivering from the cold water that soaked their fabric.

There was the nearby sound of shuffling and Five began to look around, "Did you hear that?" Two caught his arm, "We'll head back a bit and we can lose whatever it is." However, Five doubted such, "We'd have to go through that deep puddle again." With that, Five edged around towards the noise, Two weakly following, and the Healer lifted his harpoon in the direction of the noise. It was then that he peered around.

With a single glance he released a sharp gasp.

* * *

It wasn't until Eight had found Six's key lying beside the river that the impact really set in. The others could only stare in alarm, somewhat mourning, and finally the guard spoke, "He probably rolled up on the bank some ways down." One looked to him, "You think that happened?" The larger nodded, pulling out of his kneeling position. "Yeah, I'm willing to go alone." The leader blinked, "I am sorry?"

"I can handle it, Boss, and you have to find the others." Eight tried to convince. Honestly, he could suppress the feeling of guilt that came knowing that he had dismissed Six when he was right. One seemed to accept this, trusting Eight, and turned to the others. "He can handle this. Let us move on." Seven seemed rightly confused and followed behind One, talking low enough so that Nine and Eight couldn't hear. "Do you think that's a good idea with what's been going on with them? With what Eight's been doing to Six?"

"All I know is he will work faster without distractions." One insisted, "And the only choice we have of finding Five, Two, _and _Six is if we split our group apart. You, Nine, and I need each other to survive. Eight can work on his own." Seven didn't feel quite safe, but couldn't deny that Eight was reliable in a bad situation, especially after he proved himself from saving Six from the Tentacle Beast. She then turned back to seek out Nine who was approaching Eight, "Eight, are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Eight answered quickly before beginning to walk in a determined fashion. The zippered male watched him go before hearing One call, "Nine, come along!" He turned and followed the other two slowly, concerned about Six's whereabouts, but knowing he wasn't able to help. Eight was more than determined, though. One, Seven, and Nine began to cross through the wet surroundings.

One began to complain the second that his feet started to sink into the mud. "What a mess. How will anything recover from this?" He asked nobody in particular as he leveraged his staff in the ground and yanked his feet from the muck. He kicked off as much as he could, but the mess wasn't an easy one to dispose of. Nine, however, was already dirty from his slip earlier into the muck, so it wouldn't bother him if not for how his leg ached when he had to struggle to lift it. He was beginning to wish that he would've been the one to stay at the library.

Seven moved effortlessly, as usual. Though her fabric was tinted a slightly brown color from soaking of the brown water. Still, she managed to be quite light on her feet, and was the first one to move back onto the road, trading in the mud for cement. Their metallic feet pattered softer than the rain and could not be heard over the rain. It seemed to drone on forever for Nine, up until the point that One abruptly stopped.

"This is wrong. I have been to the Tailor Shop, once before, and I have never seen that building on the trip." He gestured to a nearby building with a large glass window in the front. Somehow the window was still intact and inside was a supply of items leftover from humans. Nine recognized them as the things that young humans would play with and began to focus curiously.

"Are you positive?" Seven asked One with a tone of exhaustion lingering in her voice. The leader nodded, "Yes. We must have gotten turned around… Wait. The street. The Tailor Shop has a street sign, only partly legible. It starts with a 'mo'." The Warrior perked, "We can find a sign that matches to get our bearings." She began to look around quickly and One looked back to Nine. His slanted eyes focused in a bit of his own curiosity at why the other was staring in the window.

Instead of calling him over, One crossed over to Nine's side, and looked up into the window. "Children's playthings." One pointed out and received a comment right after, "Look at that." Nine pointed in a corner and the leader could see a small ragdoll propped on a chair. For a second One actually felt close to Nine as he remembered when he was younger, seeing another doll and wondering why it was inanimate. "It is a doll."

"One…" Nine began, "What's the difference between us and it? I mean, I know the metal, but how are we…" The leader immediately had an answer, "Dolls are made to be enjoyed by humans. Stitchpunks are made to be equal to humans, and we are." Nine looked to him, "One, there's something I want to ask you, but I'm afraid you'll get upset." Before the leader could respond, Seven suddenly called, "I think I found the street!"

One turned to follow her, beckoning for Nine to follow, but the other male was still distressed. Even with the falling rain, with Two and Five missing, with their lives in danger, he had to know. "One…" He rushed to catch up with the older, limping, "One, what was Father like?" It had been an accident to call him 'Father' instead of 'The Scientist', mostly from Child's reaction to the latter. It created a rapid change in One, though, as he suddenly stopped and went ridged.

Seven, who was up ahead, stopped and peered back at the two, wondering why they weren't coming. Nine just waited, before coming up beside One, "Please. I want to know." Ever since he saw Child's reaction to seeing the human's body, Nine had been having this nagging feeling that he should've cared more too. He knew, from the incident, his place in their creation and cared about him, but he had never really been allowed to know who he was, and asking Child wasn't possible.

Then One brought his hand down upon Nine's shoulder and released an uncharacteristically weary sigh. Though the younger guessed it was from mental weariness. "He was very much like Two. Constantly wanting to work and wanting to learn, though he had already known anything he could by time I was born." Nine eagerly listened and One continued, "I only stayed a few weeks with him before Two was born, but I knew everything I could of him before I had to leave."

"Was he nice?" Nine asked curiously and One nodded, "Very much so. Very gentle, very caring, but a bit more quiet than Two is. He was calm and kept a bit to himself. He loved to read; I remember when he would read to me." One continued to tell stories as they followed Seven and Nine, even with the situation, felt good.

* * *

"Six?!" Eight called over the sloshing and churning of the river beside him, optics scanning for any sign of the smaller Stitchpunk. Every time he came up empty he would mentally badger himself. _"The one time I decide to act stupid again and this happens! I should've known better, I should've known he was right." _Suddenly, all the training they had done was worthless, any small companionship didn't matter; all that mattered was that one moment when Six asked for Eight's help and was turned away.

It was really odd, though. Eight had this bizarre feeling; a mix of guilt, shame, self-anger, and something else that he couldn't identify. All he could tell was that it was there because Six was in danger and out of his sight. _"Damn, he's accident prone." _Eight managed to think as he tried to avoid the spreading river, _"Or maybe I just wasn't paying attention either times. Sounds about right." _

Finally the river let out onto some level ground where it separated into small rivets, like a thin sheet, and Eight began to search around for any sign of Six. Soon he found some very odd markings in the muddy ground. From the odd, rounded indentions and the sharp, pointed indentions he could tell that Six had actually crawled out of the river. He perked at this and followed the tracks a little further to where they stopped in a larger indention; Six had collapsed.

Suddenly Eight felt like he was ill, staring at the scene being depicted and becoming more and more aware of the chance that Six was actually hurt. He couldn't do anything, either. Eight knew little of how to mend wounds. As the rain began to fall harder he could hear a louder crackle of thunder, so booming that it nearly shook him. The Guard hurried to find more tracks and soon did so. They looked like blurred footprints in the muck, leading from the collapse's imprint into a patch of grass nearby.

He pushed through the fresh greenery and continued to follow the direction of the footprints until they led to a small, brick building. They stopped, but pointed directly at a door in the back of the building that now faced Eight, and it just happened to be cracked open. Clambering up to it, Eight pried his was inside after realizing that the door wouldn't move any farther. He managed to still get in, though, and now looked around.

Part of the roof was caved in and a sheet of water came through and pooled onto a part of the floor where the wood looked warped and darker colored. Elsewise, the floor was dry, and Eight used this to detect the small droplets of water that had recently soaked into the thirsty wood. Following them led Eight into the back part of the house that looked to be an old bedroom. The water moved directly towards another door, though a much thinner one, and Eight approached cautiously.

He pulled it open easily and the dim light from outside, peering through a nearby, cracked window, spilled onto a little form huddled in the back of the closet. There was a piece of cloth wrapped around his shoulders, but it was obviously Six, and he was shivering quite a bit. The Guard came forward cautiously, "Six?" He couldn't believe his voice sounded so concerned, and the Artist didn't respond. He kneeled in front of him and shook him, "Come on, Six. Come on, wake up."

Soon the mismatched optics began to flutter and opened into consciousness, "Eight?" Eight nodded, "Yeah, it's me. You okay?" The striped one moved stiffly, pulling into himself, "I'm cold." A single touch of the fabric and Eight could tell that he certainly was cold, almost colder than the river itself, and possibly because he was still soaked through. "You're freezing. Come on, we got to get back to the Sanctuary, now."

The Artist wasn't moving correctly, only seeming to flex his hands and not wanting to stand, "Where's…? Where did…?" He kept cutting off and the Guard decided to answer, "One and the others went to go find Five and Two. They'll be fine; we just have to worry about you." Suddenly Six spoke, "I was saved by someone." Eight blinked, "What?" Six smiled, "I think I was saved… by an… By something… And now I have this." He gestured to the blanket, "And it… brought me here?"

Eight assumed that Six was delusional by now and decided to go with it. "I don't think you're walking anytime soon." He knew he'd have to carry Six, but suddenly it was like he couldn't move. Suddenly Six was glass, compared to all the other times Eight easily yanked him up, and the Guard wasn't exactly sure why. Slowly he reached forward and brought one arm under Six's legs before circling the other around his back.

Six was so cold and seemed incredibly small as Eight lifted him. Nearly as light as one of the feathers Seven wore from her helmet, soaked straight through, and Eight feared taking him back outside. He knew that the water could rise, soon, and it would trap them both inside this house. Then there would be trouble. Since the Sanctuary was so high up it would be safe, he assumed, and so he insistently began to leave the brick house.

There was the weird feeling of being watched that Eight felt as he approached the back door again. He quickly looked around, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, and then decided that he was being paranoid before stepping outside. He didn't think it was because it was late, but the sky was beginning to turn darker. It was only early afternoon at latest, so he assumed it was from the dark clouds that kept coming. The rain was massively picking up as well and he looked to Six.

"Six…" He paused, then reached up with his somewhat free hand, using the other to hold Six, and pulled the blanket up to shield the smaller's face. "Stay close and tell me if something's wrong, okay?" Six nodded and began to press into Eight's chest, as though seeking out the warmth that the other Stitchpunk was giving, probably unintentionally. "I feel tired." Eight didn't know why, but he didn't feel safe letting Six sleep at this time. "You can rest, but stay awake, okay?"

Six didn't answer. "Six?" The Artist muttered a soft, "Okay." In response, then suddenly added, "Will you tell me a story?" As though Six had to ask Eight something so difficult. Honestly, Eight didn't know many stories, and wasn't sure what Six wanted to hear. "Alright… Yeah, I once heard a story." In fact, Eight once did read a book and began to recite what he read out of it.

"Once there was this guy who was a little weird, you know different, sort of like you look different. So he was taken by a king so that he would entertain him and all these other people that the king kept in his group, the people he trusted with his secrets and plans. He wasn't a good king, though. He liked to mess with the townspeople and even his closest advisors, make jokes and set up traps to make them look foolish. The weird guy was his jester, which means that he was supposed to make him laugh."

Six seemed to be paying attention, his glassy gaze focused onto Eight, and the Guard continued. "There was another person there too. She was a little girl who served the king who the jester felt close to. One day the king lashed out at the girl while planning the ultimate trap, and it caused the jester to come up with one of his own. He told the king that they were going to dress him up like a beast and he was going to scare a bunch of people that he invited to a party."

Again, Eight paused, and made such Six was still paying attention. "So they cover them in a bunch of stuff, the king and his advisors, and chain them together. At the party they run in the scare the people, only for the jester to string them up. He's asking who the monsters are, you know, taunting them, and reveals to the crowd that it's the king. Then he yells to the group, 'I am' whatever his name was, and 'this is my last jest'. Then sets the king and his advisors ablaze before taking off with the girl. Neither are seen ever again."

"They got away?" Six asked and Eight nodded, "Yeah. I guess that's pretty good since the King was asking for it." Eight trailed off when he realized something that he hadn't before; his ankles were submerged. Already he had been swallowed in this much water, which didn't seem like too much and yet forewarned much worse. "We don't have much time…" He muttered and began to head straight ahead. Thankfully, he noticed that Six was staying awake, just staring off as if it a dream state. That was good enough for him.

He wasn't relieved though until he saw the Library and managed to stumble through the front doors and into the building. The sudden shelter was nice, but the entire floor had sheen of water on it, and he realized that they had to move up quickly. "Boss?" He called, and instead was met by the twins. Three and Four both desperately looked for the others when Child arrived, looking tired from moving more books. "What is going on? Where's the others?"

"Six fell down a river and we had to split." Eight explained, "I got Six, but they're still out there. Probably on their way here." Child stared outside before turning to Eight, "Right. Is he alright?" Eight looked down, "Yeah, just cold and wet. I have to dry him off, you watch for them." Child nodded in agreement and took post by the door as the Guard approached the bucket lift. He used one hand to turn the crank and lift them.

Only now, unmoving, did Eight realize how cold he was as well. That's when it really set in how cold Six probably felt compared to this and took him straight into his room. Avoiding the drawings across the floor and scattered half-filled inkwells, he set Six down on the small bed and began to dry him with his blankets. Seeing Six so close to being gone, Eight actually began to fathom that maybe he was afraid to lose the striped one. Maybe he couldn't lose him.

* * *

**Mable: Just like Eight to bring up a story like that, eh? Actually, it is a real story, for those who aren't familiar. It's called 'Hop-Frog' by Edgar Allen Poe, and Eight summed up the story pretty good for someone who doesn't read a lot. Tomorrow comes the next chapter and I hope everyone enjoys!**


	16. Chapter 16: The Furious Tides

**Mable: Here's chapter sixteen! I don't really have anything to say… I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Sixteen: The Furious Tides_

One shushed both Seven and Nine as he heard a nearby noise. It sounded like only a bit of movement, but in this area that could be dangerous. They hadn't yet arrived at the Tailor Shop, but were relatively close, until this noise stopped them. "It sounds like it's coming from that car." Nine whispered as he pointed at the nearby vehicle that was lying upon its side. One scrutinized it and Seven lowered her helmet before approaching. The leader stopped her, "Don't."

"If it's a beast then let me be the one to lure it out." She insisted before continuing towards the car, leaving Nine and One to watch from afar. Nine did try to follow, but One wouldn't allow him to, and soon Seven lifted her spear and leapt under the car. All Nine heard was Seven cry out, "Oh!" And pulled from the leader to rush after her. The second he saw the threat he felt a wave of relief and a smile appeared, "Five!"

There stood Five, holding his harpoon close, shocked to see them. It was obvious that he expected a beast. Then Two appeared from behind him with an equally shocked look, "Seven, Nine! What are you two doing here?" One hurried up, "Two?" He regained compositor, "We came to find you. Why didn't you return home?" Two smiled, "We were trying to, but the road back was very rough. I had to stop for a second and-."

The leader was obviously not pleased, "You could have been killed!" He scolded and managed to regain compositor, "It does not matter. We must get back to the Sanctuary, now, before the entire area floods." Two nodded and released a pitiful cough to which the others were a bit concerned. One coaxed him along and Seven began to lead the way back. Unfortunately, while the rain hadn't sped up at all, the ground was starting to show changes from such rain.

Nine was the first to notice that, even at highest point, their ankles were always submerged. They were having a harder time pulling their legs out of the muck and tried to hurry their pace. Lightning continued to shoot across the sky and somewhere nearby was a billow of smoke. "Something must be on fire. The rain should put it out soon." Two suggested. That's when Seven spoke, "There's a quicker way back." She insisted and suddenly went a random direction.

The others followed, save One who attempted to lure the others in his direction, and finally gave in when he noticed the water was raising higher. Seven's route was much easier, though, a bit more hidden by the rain as it ducked through broken buildings. As such, they were making better time, even when they had to duck back into the open Emptiness of rubble and leftover metal waste.

That was, until Seven stopped abruptly. She didn't know how it happened, but what used to be a small ditch was now overflowing like the 'river' that Six had fallen into. She could only stare at in in shock and horror, unsure what to do now, but immediately Two spoke up with an idea. "Five, we'll cross over like we did in the mining facility." Five quickly fixed a hooked harpoon with a strong thread, before looking for a decent thing to lock the hook on.

Soon he decided to shoot at a broken piece of a car that was left a bit far on the other side of the river. It looked stable enough, but the end of the thread ended up being a bit short, so Five had to tie it to the closest thing, a very unstable piece of rubble. He was hesitant and decided that it was only right to test it first. "If it holds my weight then it should hold everyone else's." He reasoned to Two before making the first attempt.

The others watched carefully as Five hooked a leg over the rope and began to climb across while dangling underneath. Unlike what he suspected, the thread held well, and soon he got to the other side. Once on the other side he called across. "It's okay, but maybe I should send another across." Nine spoke up, "We don't have time, Five. This is fine." Two was the next to attempt crossing the river. He moved in a labored fashion, but managed to get across as well.

When One moved across he spent the entire time fussing over his cape dipping into the water. "One, I will clean it when we get home." Two insistently called and One retorted, "You certainly will! Causing us to come into the nonsense-!" He finally made it to land where he began to spend more time addressing his cape than addressing the others. Nine turned to Seven, "You go next." Seven wasn't sure, "You're injured-."

"I'm fine." Nine insisted, "Hurry." The Warrior nodded and began to cross the thread as well. Nine, being a bit reckless, decided to begin crossing before she was off the thread. Only a little bit across, working with his good leg, and something seemed to move. Five gasped and grabbed the thread tightly as he realized that the other side was giving way. "Hurry! Quick!" Seven managed to make it off the thread right before it collapsed.

Nine held on tightly as he was suddenly drug downstream. His grasp on the thread was the only thing keeping him from drifting away. His grip managed to stay firm enough that he started to drag himself upwards, the rushing water drowning out noise like the rushing oil had done at the mining facility. Soon he felt Five, who was standing knee deep in the water, drag him out. "Are you alright?!" His friend asked and Nine nodded, "I'm fine… We need to keep moving. I'll be fine."

As such, they began to move again, as the ground was becoming more unsteady and the water was beginning to slowly rise. Other than One slipping and falling into Five at one point, they managed to get to the Library uneventfully. Unfortunately, the library was beginning to flood as well, and they were up to their waist in water. Most of the books were either moved, or stacked well enough that only a few would probably get wet, and hopefully they would eventually dry enough to be usable in the future.

Child was perched by the door and climbed down, using his extra Machine limbs to move almost like a Repair Beast. "I was wondering when you would appear." He muttered, mostly to himself. One looked around quickly, "Where are the twins?" Child gestured to the lift. "Waiting in the lift. Eight and Six are upstairs." With this, Seven, One, and Nine were relieved. "Is he okay?" Seven asked and Child shrugged, "I'm not sure. Two will have to check him."

With that, they all headed to the bucket lift, until Nine was stopped by Child. "You are limping again." He reminded, suddenly checking Nine over as if examining him. "I'm fine." Nine answered and Child retorted, "Something happened. I can tell." The zippered one blinked, "How could you know about the accident? Did you follow us?" Child retort was a subtle, almost smirk-like look, "I didn't have to. You just told me." Nine tried to give an unimpressed look, but after everything that happened he couldn't help but smile a little.

"We can continue this in the Sanctuary." One insisted, "The storm is growing worse." Indeed, the rumbling outside was becoming a bit worse, and they approached the lift. Three saw Five and immediately jumped down from the slightly raised lift into the water, risking herself getting wet to wade over and hug onto him. She eagerly began looking him over to make sure he was fine. "I'm alright." Five encouraged, smiling, before embracing the smaller female in a warm hug.

They climbed into the lift and began to rise into the safety of the Sanctuary. Once inside, One immediately made for Six's room, "He fell into the river and was swept downstream." He explained to Two who followed loyally, looking very concerned, hoping that Six was in alright condition. The second he opened the curtain he was taken aback to see the Stitchpunks in the position they were in.

Eight awake to his sputtering, and One was certainly sputtering for words, to find that he had fallen asleep leaning against the wall. He soon also realized that Six, who he had left on the bed, had decided to move and was now curled up again his side. "What is going here?! Tell me!" The leader demanded and Eight struggled for words, "I don't-." Six was awake by now and looked genuinely terrified and somewhat guilty, like he had done something wrong.

Two watched this silently and, from the look on his face, didn't think this was nearly as big of a deal as One was making it. Eight composed himself enough to speak, "I just fell asleep." He defended and One growled, "This is the last that I will put up with! I know what is going on between you two and I cannot believe- I cannot fathom-!" Finally, he cut off, and abruptly turned and left. Only a few seconds gone and Six rose to his feet.

Eight tried to stop him, but Six was adamant. "I have to tell him." He insisted and stumbled after the leader. Two, meanwhile, turned to Eight, "We managed to find the cloth. It is really beginning to storm, though." Eight accepted Two's attempt at small talk, "Yeah, it is."

"One, wait." Six caught up to One and stared at the back of the other male's head. He didn't know how to say this, but he knew he couldn't keep hiding it, even if it could cause him to be sent away. "One… Eight's been…" The leader turned towards him, "I know that he has been holding something against you and is presently making you… Making you do things that I wish not to address, though I…"

"It's not like that." Six insisted and softly exhaled, "One… Eight said he was keeping something against me so that he could train me…. Without me knowing… But I figured it out and he's training me now…" The Artist looked to the floor, "I'm a freak, and I can move things without touching them, with my mind." He suddenly began to tremble as he waited for One to announce his fate. To which One responded, "That was all?"

Six's head flipped up, "What?" The leader seemed genuinely apologetic, "I thought, with how I kept finding you in each other's rooms and him constantly at arm's length, that he was making you do some very… Mature things with him." The Artist looked around quickly, almost in disbelief, "One, I can move things with my mind! Two said I was a Telekinetic!" One's face didn't change, "I'm very aware." Now Six didn't have to ask, because his face gave all the questioning he needed.

"I saw you attack the Beast with the tentacles and I heard when Two was reading to you later. I've been very aware of what you have been doing, but I did not put that together with the recent behavior." He almost sounded disappointed in himself. Six grew hopeful, "So… You're not going to make me leave? Even though I'm a freak?" The leader went solemn, "You are not a 'freak', Six. Has Eight been calling you that?"

"Not anymore." That was the honest truth. Recently Eight was cutting down on all types of bullying and after saving his life, Six was sure that Eight didn't hate him anymore. "Very well. I should apologize to Eight for assuming the worst. However, you should have come to me, then I would have straightened out this nonsense." Six added in, "But then Eight wouldn't have been training me." One nodded, "Correct. Still, next time something like this happens, tell me."

He then turned to stare into the throne room, listening. "The rain is growing worse…. Six, please return to your room. It is the one deepest inside the walls and should be the safest." The Artist nodded and turned to head back towards his room, still tired and cold. As he passed the workshop he heard Nine speak up, "Six!" He stopped as the burlap one appeared at the door, Seven and Five closing in behind him. "Are you okay?"

Six smiled at his concern, "I'm fine." He could hear Seven whispered a hushed, "Thank goodness." Nine began to apologize profusely, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you so far behind." Still, the Artist shook his head, "It was going to happen, and it did, but I'm fine." Then pointed towards his room. "One told me to go to my room, it's the safest, you can come too." At this, Five spoke up, "Could we?" By 'we', he obviously meant him and the twins. He held Four's hand, brotherly, while had an arm around Three's shoulders.

"Okay." Six answered, happy to have more coming. Secretly, Six did tend to get a bit lonely at times and enjoyed when all of the Stitchpunks grouped in one of the smaller rooms because it made it feel less so. Five led the twins down the hall and Six followed. The group entered the room where Eight immediately questioned Six, "How'd it go?" The Artist's smile told it all, "He already knew. He just thought we were doing something else."

Eight looked a bit confused, "He already knew?" It completely stumped him, "So, wait, what did he think we were doing?" The Artist answered, "Not sure." Though he did sort of have an idea from all of the references that One had previously made. Two decided to slip out of the room to check on said leader. He headed down the hall and entered his room to see One simply sitting on his bed. He had removed his crown which now sat to the side on a used spool of thread that One used as a stool at times.

A dim candle flickered in the corner; One wouldn't allow any lights that were run from the generator in his room as he preferred candles. Two decided to sit beside him, though winced as he realized he would most likely get the bedding wet as well. One didn't scold him, didn't say a thing, and just sat there staring at the wall. The Inventor knew that this behavior wasn't from Six and Eight. "What is the matter?"

"Do you hear that?" One asked in an answer and Two listened, "All I can hear is rain." The leader closed his optics, "It is coming down harder… If you were still out there the water would be overhead by now." The realization did unnerve the Inventor who managed to still smile, "Yes, but we got back. Everything's fine." One looked to him, "Everything is not fine, Two, you should have known better than to go out when a storm was among us."

Two didn't know how to answer. Instead, he just stared at One, unable to answer. Finally, he fell into a look of sadness, "I know, One. I made a mistake." Still, One persisted, "You put Five's life in danger as well, all of ours, because you decided to leave too early to check if the weather would be stable," Two didn't answer and One stood, "and now… and now the storm is growing worse. Now the only place we had that could keep us safe may be our tomb."

Honestly, One expected Two to respond, he was waiting for one of those comments that reassured and brought hope to be spoke, but they never came. Instead, he looked back to see Two simply staring into his lap, hands wringing each other. One suddenly knew that Two was scared and sat back down, wrapping his arms around the shorter Stitchpunk's frame. Two accepted the gesture desperately, his hands grasping at One, and hid his face into One's shoulder like a child.

The Leader couldn't believe how wonderful it felt to have the Stitchpunk in his grasp instead of out in the world, "You frightened me, Two. I thought I wouldn't find you." Then he added, "You are soaked." He could feel Two smile and felt a bit relieved, "It is fine. I am just a bit cold." Suddenly, Two noticed One suddenly seem to go rigid, it only briefly, and then noticed that the touches began to change into softer pets. "Then…Perhaps we should try to warm you."

Suddenly Two felt One move away, only to push their lips together. Two gasped in surprise, but didn't pull away. He instead accepted the motion graciously, allowing himself to be lowered onto his back, and pulled One close to him. This wasn't the first time they had done this. In fact, they had done it many times, for many years, and both were very comfortable with this. It was a few minutes to ignore the rest of the world and it was all either wanted.

Light kisses were laid over Two's cheeks and every inch of his mouth, leaving him feeling much warmer, trying to return them with as much vigor as he could. A metal hand trailed along his side and felt over his damp frame carefully, as though checking to make sure everything was as it was normally. Then Two took One's hand and pulled it onto his ties with a needy sigh. At that second, One began to tug him open, slowly undoing the ties that kept his mate shut tight.

As soon as he could see the pale light of an eager soul, One opened his own buckles, and then the two joined together. It was amazing pleasure, wonderful, and everything was locking them together. It was as though they breathed together, lived each other's moments, and only after it was over were they able to piece together what the white blur had been. Lying together on the bed, laying on it horizontally instead of the proper way, and One tugged the blanket over them both. They stayed like that, listening to the heavy rain overhead.

Nine, however, had entered the Throne Room to stare down past the lift. The water in the library was rising, but hadn't risen by much. Seven was nearby and coaxed Nine, "We should head back into Six's room." Nine, however, was hesitant, "I'll be there in a second." After a few seconds, he spoke again, "Seven, it's okay, I'll be fine." Finally, it sounded like she walked off, and he stared at the water below. That's when he heard the footsteps return, "Seven…" He sighed.

"Wrong." Was the only response and Nine looked back to see Child, "Oh… Hey." Child nodded slowly and came forward to stand by the zippered male. There was some time of silence before Nine spoke, "What happened earlier?" The other looked away, "I'm not sure. Seeing that… It just unnerved me." Nine couldn't control his response, "You were scared." Child's sharp red optics glared at him, "I wouldn't fear a corpse." Nine huffed, "That's not true. You're afraid of something."

"Am I made of paper?" Child retorted, "You- all of you coming with your own solutions to my behavior. If we should be questioning anyone's behavior then we should definitely be questioning One's, or Eight's, or even yours, but not mine." Nine wasn't really assuming anything; he had simply been trying to strike a chord, and he had managed to do so. He added, "You had only see humans alive, so seeing them like that must have upset you. If I saw humans alive I'd-."

"You certainly won't. They chose this when they began making Machines for war." Child retorted, "I was simply startled. I'm allowed to have a second of shock." Then he began to head back towards the hallway only to stop in his tracks. "Are you coming?" He asked and Nine was confused to why Child was actually waiting on him after the previous event. "Yeah…" He said and began to follow after the other Stitchpunk.

* * *

**Mable: A bit of a slow chapter, I know, but you have to have them at times. ^-^ Another chapter tomorrow! I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	17. Chapter 17: The Morning After

**Mable: Chapter seventeen! Wow, getting up there… I don't think I've had a fic hit seventeen chapters before… Though, to be fair, this fic will be continuing for quite a while longer. Ah well, I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

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_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Seventeen: The Morning After_

Six was the first to awaken in the morning. He rolled over on his bed and looked at his Stitchpunk filled room in a daze of grogginess and confusion. Eight was beside his bed again, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, completely unconscious. The only other Stitchpunk in Six's bed was Four who was curled at the foot of his bed. On the floor, Five was laying with his head resting on his rucksack, Three being held protectively. Nine was beside him, lying in an odd angle and looking uncomfortable. Child was nearby, laying there limply like a normal ragdoll. Seven was sleeping like Eight except against the wall by the door.

The Artist climbed to his feet and started to the door as soon as his optics landed on it. He was dry so he realized that he must have slept through the entire night. He peered down the hall and could see a dull light in the Throne Room which seemed to suggest that it was morning. Slowly he approached it, stopping to look in One's room as he passed. As expected, One was in his bed, but for some odd reason Two was with him too.

Six shrugged it off and decided to continue to the throne room. Morning sun shined through the vent windows located inside and when he looked down into the library he could see that the water had receded. With a wide smile and a burst of excitement, Six ran back down the hallway, bypassing One's room and heading to his own. "It's over!" He called as he burst in, "The storm is over!"

A few of the Stitchpunks sat up startled, looking around in horror, and soon put together Six had cried out. Soon, it set in, and the others were standing. Seven was the first to follow Six back to the throne room. She felt overwhelming joy to see the sun coming through the vent window and rested a hand on her chest, chanting soft thanks to an unknown entity.

Four was out next, then Three and Five, and the twins nearly danced with joy as Five watched them with his own thrill. Nine, Child, and Eight also followed, the Guard knocking on One's doorframe as he passed, but not entering inside to disturb his leader. It awoke One who listened closely for the weather. Once he realized that he couldn't hear anything he began to perk and gently shook Two's frame, "It is over. The rain has stopped."

He was surprised how quickly Two went from asleep to sitting up to tie his front. One followed suit with his buckles and grabbed his things before they exited. One left first; Two slipped out a few seconds later. In the throne room, everyone seemed to be celebrating, and soon began boarding the lift to go check on the damage. Nobody was against this and down the lift they went, breaking into two groups.

The entrance of the library's floor was covered in dirt that was brought in by the water, as was seen by the few Stitchpunks who decided to venture out. The world was still muddy and looked quite a mess, but the puddles were much more wanted than the flood itself. Two began to look around the area and Five immediately noticed the way he was looking around. "Two? Did you lose something?" The Inventor smiled, "Actually, I was looking for a Rainbow."

The term 'rainbow' always brought up memories of that song that played on the Phonograph. Naturally, this was the only time it had been brought up since the incident, but still Nine, who walked up, and Five were a bit curious. "A Rainbow?" Nine asked curiously and Two nodded. "It happens when the air is moist enough that the droplets of water form a prism; they cause the colors to stretch about. Now I think it may be damp enough that we can see one."

The younger Stitchpunks wanted to see this rainbow that was depicted in the song. So they eagerly followed him. One made sure to call after them, "Don't go far!" But then retreated, that warning being all he wanted to say to them. Seven also came out of the library and wandered around outside, stretching her legs, when Child approached. "Which direction did he go?" She looked back, "Two, Five, and Nine?" He nodded and she paused before smiling, "You're going to go drag them back."

"Naturally." He responded and she giggled a bit, "I don't find that humorous." The Warrior shook her head, "Come on, Child, give them a few minutes. They're looking for a rainbow." The other seemed to ease, but wasn't completely, and instead just stared after where they went. Finally, the pale female spoke, "Why don't you go with them?" The male huffed, "Yesterday we almost lost everything. Today we hunt rainbows."

"Naturally." Seven added in and Child eased more before following after where Two was leading the others. Seven just watched him leave before turning to look at the morning sky. Child kept a reasonable distance from the Stitchpunks as he followed them. Something in him was telling him to observe them, to study them, because only then would he be able to fully become what he was really supposed to be. He really did find the other Stitchpunks interesting; even if he was one of them.

Two took Nine and Five clear around the library. Whether he was climbing up on rubble or staying near the ground, he scoured different angles, staring towards the sky and the sun. "There must be one. After that much rain, this is the best chance." Nine and Five followed when Nine turned to Five, "What is a rainbow?" The healer smiled and explained, "It's an illusion made from the sunlight. Very colorful." The zippered one continued, "Have you seen one?"

"Well… No, but I have heard of them." Five explained, "I read about them a long time ago. That's how I learned about how they are made. Two read with me, but I think he already knew." The zippered one was curious, "Was it before or after the song?" Five briefly shivered, "Before. A long time before, but I still want to see a real one, even after the song." Nine nodded. He didn't want to remember the incident, but he did want to see this amazing thing.

However, after one too many times falling into the mud front down, Two began to grow a bit disturbed. "Maybe it has been too long without raining." He suggested as he sat down on a dry piece of cement. Five sat down with him, but Nine decided to wander around a little bit. He didn't realize he was being followed, but Child decided to remain hidden. He watched as Nine scrambled onto what looked like an old wheelbarrow.

That's when Nine looked back towards the library and got this look of awe. Suddenly Child felt disturbed seeing such an innocent look, like he himself was corrupted for not being able to see the world with such innocence. Nine smiled brightly and called out, "Two! Five! Come quick, I- I think I see it!" Soon, Two and Five ran up, Two climbing up first and looking back to see what Nine was pointing at. He gasped, "Well, look at that!"

The healer looked back, "I… I can't see anything." The Inventor beckoned him to where they were, "You have to stand here to see it." They helped Five up and pointed it out. There, only barely visible and half there, was the remnants of a rainbow. Even though not complete, it was stunning, and the three stared at it in amazement. Neither could really say why the striking color, dull, flashing across the gray sky was so radiant, but they couldn't look away.

After a few minutes, Five climbed down, "I have to show Three. I'll be right back." This left Two and Nine alone, but soon the Inventor was also ready to move, "I should get this mud off of me before it dries." Nine decided to stay behind and continued to stare upwards at the sky. Child couldn't find himself to disturb him and instead retracted the Machine limbs and began to cautiously approach, as to alert Nine to his presence.

Nine didn't seem to notice him and Child stood there quietly, waiting for any movement, observing this other Stitchpunk. He had never been given the chance to meet another of his kind when he had been the only one, but now he knew them all relatively well, but this was the only time he got to actually stop and think about it. In the long run, he had gotten exactly what he wanted. He was no longer a prey to humans, there were others of his kind, and the world was their own.

That same bought of thought made Child feel incredibly wrong. He knew he shouldn't be pleased, not with this world, not after so many humans died from his own actions, but he couldn't help but think maybe that he had been right. He knew the machine was to be the humans' downfall and he knew the beginning wars between them were not worth what they wanted. The humans had dug their own grave. Unfortunately, Child realized that he was the one that nudged them in, even if he didn't mean to.

"You want to sit down?" Nine asked, not looking over but obviously knowing the other was there. Child wasn't sure how long he had disappeared into his thoughts and decided to simply take Nine up on his offer. He approached where Nine was, now sitting down on the wheelbarrow, and sat beside him. However, he couldn't make his gaze change to the sky, and instead it locked back on Nine.

He didn't understand how his father's creations were so varied. The Machine had no soul, Child himself had a corrupt soul, but Nine had an innocent soul. Only then did he wonder if this would was only for the other Stitchpunks, an Eden, while he himself had merely stumbled in while the gate wasn't watched. Finally his optics turned to the sky. The rainbow was still growing less visible every second, but for the moment was radiant.

"You wouldn't think you see something like that." Nine chimed up, "When you're out in a place like this. All that color." Child shook his head, "No. You would not expect to see anything after the humans were removed." The zippered male forced a smile, "We made up for it. The Machine is gone, and it is never coming back." At that second, Child got an even worse feeling that before.

He knew the Machine wasn't gone. Unfortunately, it was closer than Nine could ever fathom, and Child knew it.

* * *

Eight knew that One was alright with the training, so he took this opportunity to begin training Six again. Or, he would've, if he could find Six. Everyone was acting so joyful over being alive that they were acting a little strange, and none of them seemed very aware of their surroundings. He asked Five as he rushed towards the entrance with the twins and received nothing, as Five didn't know. He asked Seven who was stretching outside and she didn't know. He wasn't willing to ask One.

Eventually, though, he did manage to track down Six by the soft sound of his voice. Soft murmurings were a trademark of Six and Eight found him in the back with the stacks of books, hunched over a rather heavy one. "Six?" The Artist looked back quickly and smiled, "Oh, hello." The greeting sounded a bit wavering, as though the Guard caught him doing something that he was trying to hide, and came closer. "What's that?... Other than a book."

Six was acting as odd as the others. Oddly shy and moving a bit clumsily, "I was… Actually… I told the twins about that story you told me." He pointed at the pages of the book, "It's here. It's called Hop-Frog." The guard came closer and looked down at the words. They easily matched up with his story and he knew it was the same one. "It can't be the same book. There's no way."

He kneeled to scrutinize the book when he noticed that Six looked a little more hesitant that usual. His pen tipped fingers were clutching his key tightly and he was staring at the floor. "Why were you looking for it?" Eight asked and Six looked up briefly before going to the edge of the page, "I really liked the story so… I was thinking that… Maybe I could tell you a story like you told me?"

Eight was a little taken aback at this notion, but seeing how much Six wanted it, he eased up and denoted this as being normal activity. "Alright. You've got one?" Six smiled and pushed the pages to a certain spot. "I think you'll like this one-."

* * *

Two had cleaned off his legs in the pool, which was surprisingly clean considering that the flooding water that entered the Library was muddy, and decided to take a brief stroll around the Library. It was nicely cool and dim, in contrast to the usual heat and sun. it was all interrupted when he noticed that the twins had set up something nearby. A bunch of books and papers were spread in a circle and opened as though the two had been studying something.

Curiously, Two decided to peer in and see what it was that the two had been reading about. Soon his optics were overtaken by one of the books that depicted pictures of a beautiful city. Tall buildings and lamp lined streets enticed Two with the prospect of travel. Secretly, Two had a bit of a longing to travel, even if it meant he'd simply come back to home as usual after the trip. Other placed outside of the simpler Luxembourg Emptiness seemed extraordinary and delightfully new.

That's when he actually saw the name of the city. "Paris." He murmured under his breath as he scanned the next book. This one just had a few facts about Paris, the streets, a tower that they spoke highly of, but it just made Two want to see this radiant city even more. The next book was almost the same as the second, but Two couldn't read the words. He was aware that in different locations some humans spoke different languages and accepted this as being the reason why.

He stopped flat at the next book. Surprisingly, there were scribbles in it, which he knew that the twins would be very hesitant to do. There were two circles and a line finished with an arrow steering one to the other. Looking closer at the drawings, Two realized that they were not random, and were addressing the map that they were drawn on. Beneath the one circle was Luxembourg and the other was what the word 'Paris', which meant the city was there.

The twins were planning out the route to Paris. It surprised Two and enlightened him at the exact same time. He wasn't the only one who questioned what it would be like, to travel and such. Seeing that all the work was already done, Two could only think of trying to pass the idea past the other Stitchpunks. He knew the others well enough that only One would really put up a fight, so he was tempted to work on him first.

He managed to find One quickly and only took a few seconds to gain the courage to approach. "One?" The leader was simply searching through the library, searching for any changes and making sure that nothing was misplaced, and turned to the Inventor, "Yes?" Thankfully, his mood was relatively pleasant, so Two knew this was the best time to ask. If One would've snapped at him then he certainly would have decided to wait.

"The twins have been looking into something that I think may be interesting." One's suspicion wasn't heightened, so Two continued. "After something as powerful as what we've gone though, it is obvious that life is unpredictable. The storm could return, the Machines could return, and in an instant we could lose all we have." The leader looked to him, "We managed to survive both in the past. As long as we carefully plan our actions we will be absolutely fine."

"Well, yes, that is true, but what is life without a few risks? Honestly, I would rather balance between an exciting life and a safe life. Keeping both at heart in a way to keep us secure while we also refuse to miss an opportunity for our happiness." He encouraged, "The twins seem to have found something that we could try, that may help us, and all we have to do is put some time aside to attempt it."

Now One was suspicious, but being quite lenient with Two, most likely from the past night's activities. "What do you suggest?" Two smiled, "There's a city nearby called 'Paris' that the twins were looking at." One looked horrified, "You want us to travel to Paris?!" Two perked, "You've heard of it?" One wasn't looking nearly as calm anymore. "Of course I know what Paris is! A large, dangerous city that is probably filled with Beasts, how could you think that is not completely insane?!"

"Because, One, we're sitting here doing nothing!" Two retorted, "One, come now, we need something to look forward to! Yesterday reminded me that we're always at risk and I would rather risk my life doing something amazing, something different!" He was on the verge of begging and One finally began to give in. Two was shocked when One's strict look began to soften and went quiet.

"If we did this, would you be content?" He asked and Two didn't know how to respond. He did manage to answer honestly, "I promise I would be." Then One looked away, "I do not want to do this… However, after last night, I am willing to appease you since we almost lost you, again, because of your insistence to leave." Two smiled a bit, "I wouldn't be lost if you came with me." This seemed to buy One enough, though Two guessed he was hiding his own curiosity to travel which may have influenced his decision.

"You will be the one to tell the others." One insisted, "And if something goes wrong it will be on your head." Two couldn't suppress his beaming, "It won't. Thank you." Then left to tell the other Stitchpunks, leaving One to contemplate whether he made a mistake or not.

* * *

**Mable: Now, I meant to add the next arch in now, continuing the daily updates through the next arch, but I think I need to take a double look at some of the finished chapters and fix them up. Instead, I'm going to wait until Thursday, which is in a few days, and then begin daily updates again. Honestly, I didn't mean to take a brief stop here, but I need to do some quality control. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	18. Chapter 18: The Miles Separating

**Mable: As promis****ed, the new arch begins! I don't own 9, enjoy!**

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_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Eighteen: The Miles Separating_

One began to awaken all of the Stitchpunks incredibly early. They all knew the trip was a blessing, but a few were having trouble coping with leaving before the sun even rose. Eight was one of these who was soon rewarded with One barging in, "It's time to leave." The leader announced and the Guard groaned, "Come on, Boss, I didn't sleep much last night." One was persistent, "You will be able to sleep plenty once the sun goes down. We must use as much daylight as we can to travel."

With that, he was gone, but Eight knew he would be back so he tiredly sat up. Reaching over he grabbed onto his shoulder guard and slipped it over his head, hooking his magnet on the back, grabbing the largest and best knife he had, and then began to stand to his feet. He was certainly groggy, but could only blame himself. One had warned him that they would be leaving early after Two spoke about the trip the day before, but he still stayed up with that book all night.

Speaking of the book and staying up, Eight decided that it was best if One didn't awaken Six, and stumbled out of his room. One was presently trying to get Child up, but unfortunately it turned into a bit of a shouting match of wills, between the two. Eight slipped past the room and headed back into Six's, tiredly rubbing his temples. "Six?" He called as he pushed open the curtain, moving like he had spent the night using his magnet and was now recovering, "Six, we need to go."

The Artist was sprawled out on top of his covers. In a few places it looked like he had tried to pull them over him in his sleep, but it didn't look like it worked well. Eight composed himself and crossed over. Honestly, Eight had become more and more unsure about how to awaken Six. Now that they were close it felt much harder to just shake him and drag him to his feet. Now he actually had to keep Six's reactions in mind. He came closer and rested a hand on the Artist's shoulder.

"Come on, Six, One's going to be in here." The striped one rolled onto the back and looked up tiredly, "What's going on?" The Guard exhaled softly, "One's getting ready to leave." Six had been excited the day before when Two had mentioned all of the types of art in Paris, all that they could see, and the prospect of what he could draw, but now looked quite drained, "Can't I sleep longer?"

Eight was about to remind the smaller of what One said, but decided to give in, and instead bent down, "Climb on my back and you can try to sleep longer. Just hold on; if you fall I'll be too tired to lean over and pick you up again." Six reached up and climbed onto Eight's back, managing to secure himself without touching the sharp part of the knife. Eight also yanked up one of Six's inkwells, sure that they'd find paper on the way.

Of course, once in the hall he promptly dropped the inkwell into Nine's hands. The Stitchpunk stood there looking lost and looked at his new luggage in surprise before looking to the Guard. "I'm already carrying Six. Someone else can carry his stuff." Seeing that Five was carrying his heavy bag, Nine decided just to carry it, along with his Lightstaff. Seven was the most awake along with Two who was quite eager to go. The twins slept a full night's sleep so they were also eager to go.

Child looked distinctly annoyed when he approached Nine. Nine expected Child to approach him, the male always seemed most comfortable haunting around the zippered male, and just looked at him tiredly, "You and One were yelling." The Stitchpunk with the red optics exhaled with frustration. "He barged in and we had a bit of a match of wits. Though, I was in the right." Nine smiled and shook his head before feeling Child touch the inkwell. "You will drop this. Let me carry it."

He took the inkwell, holding it with a free arm. Nine stretched a bit and looked down the hall at One who was speaking to Two and overlooking a map that Five sketched with Three and Four's diagrams. "This is going to be a long walk, isn't it?" Child actually released a dull chuckle, though Nine didn't know if it was amusement or actually just more cynical behavior. His voice actually suggested amusement, "Let us say that if he doesn't let us stop, we'll be dead." Nine realized that Child was a bit morbid and sadistic.

Still, it wasn't as though Nine could talk to anyone else. One, Two, the twins, and Five were all trying to work with the map, Six was asleep again, Eight was chatting with Seven and they both agreed that One waking them up was a terrible affair, so Child was the only one free. Unfortunately, Nine didn't know what to talk to Child to, and soon decided to take a guess. "So… Have you… Heard of Paris before?"

Child looked towards Nine, "I have. It was supposed to be a lovely city. Most likely evacuated before the Machines overtook." Nine blinked, "And that means…?" Child smiled lightly, "If they removed the humans then the Machines would have no reason to destroy everything. Hopefully, this is the case." The zippered one agreed as One spoke up, "Come along. Morning will soon be upon us."

So they set off into the Emptiness once again.

* * *

By time the morning sun raised the Stitchpunks were already growing weary again. Two and the twins were leading brightly alert while even One was beginning to lag back. Six was finally coming to consciousness again. "Eight?" He asked weakly and the Guard tiredly responded, "Morning." The Artist looked around before daring to ask where they were. "About an hour or so out." Eight pointed out, "I'd think longer, but the sun has barely moved."

Six briefly nuzzled into Eight's neck, not realizing what he was doing out of his exhaustion, but it was clearly catching Eight's attention. He suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable and out of place, as though he didn't want to be in his fabric, but at the same time he couldn't push the other off. However, Six suddenly began to climb down to the ground and walk on his own. "Eight… did you…?" At first Eight was hesitant to even fathom what Six was asking, but did added, "The inkwell's with Nine."

The Artist smiled, thanked Eight, and hurried ahead to speak to Nine. Eight decided to try to block out any thoughts about earlier. Six approached Nine, "Eight said you had my inkwell." Nine pointed to the side, "Child." Six rushed over and was promptly handed the well. "Thank you." He smiled, looking at his ration of ink, and Child eyed the black liquid. "Do you plan to draw when we're in Paris?"

Six nodded, "I want to draw what I see so we can bring the pictures home." Child seemed impressed, "Very diligent of you." The striped one looked back at the ink again. It was as though his whole life could be summed up in the bottle. He loved to draw, he wanted to draw, and he wanted the others to like what he drew. "I am sure you will find something in Paris that you feel inspired to draw." Six hoped so.

With the few minutes of rest they got during the day, it was understandable that they'd nearly collapse once it got dark and they decided to stop. Thankfully, the walked into an area far from civilization, so the grass was growing back and was relatively comfortable. Immediately, Three playfully pretended to collapsed on the grass and Five followed her to lie back on the greenery. In retort, Three playfully pounced on him and they both fell in a weary fit of laughing; Three using her optics' flickering to signal it.

It only intensified when Five decided to bring his hands down upon her sides, tickling her and causing her to thrash playfully. The rest of the Stitchpunks actually watched the scene. Most wondered how Five and Three had the energy to be so playful. Child, most of all, was confused at their behavior. He soon pieced together that this was how Stitchpunks played. While he found it a bit odd and not understandable, he decided that to sink into Stitchpunk relations that he would have to perform these acts.

However, now was the choice of who he could do such with. Nine was obviously the best target, especially since all he was doing was chatting up Seven. Approaching quickly, Child gave no indication as he moved down onto all fours, moving quickly and abruptly tackling the zippered male to the ground. Nine cried out in alarm and Child wrestled him to the ground, pinning him completely.

"What are you doing?!" Nine cried out in confusion and Child retorted, "You are _supposed_ to fight back." He said it as though he was accusing Nine who responded with, "I'm not fighting with you!" This changed as soon as Nine realized that Child wasn't going to move. He began kicking and suddenly Child realized that the other was not realizing that they were playing. Especially when a knee went into his stomach; Even with metal, it was painful.

Finally Child released Nine and the zippered male just glared at him in questioning. "We were supposed to be expressing our passive relationship with play that increases our defense skills." The other male could only stare at him in confusion, absolutely confused, but then noticed the scene with Five and Three. "I don't think we should be doing that… We'll end up killing each other."

The other agreed with a nod before perking up. "You are right. You are much too tired from the trip." Nine blinked, "That wasn't what I-…" He watched Child abruptly leave and exhaled before looking towards Seven who was watching with an amused smile. He could only return with his own, feeling a little embarrassed that she had been watching the entire event.

It only intensified when he could hear Child now attempting to 'attack' Eight.

* * *

They didn't expect to find this days into their trip. It started out looking like an odd shadow far ahead, but morphed into something amazing, and each one of them was in awe. "I thought they were all gone." Two managed to say as he touched the bark of the tall, life filled tree. The back was rough, but enticing, and each of them stared in surprise. Few of them remembered trees and even those who did enjoyed seeing them again.

The shade also managed to keep off the Emptiness' constant heat. Three and Four were both searching for leaves and, upon finding good ones, would roll them up to take them along. Six managed use some of the bigger fallen leaves like paper and sketched little drawings of trees on them as he walked. Soon he began to use Five's shoulder to press the leaf against to use as leverage.

Around this time, One began to feel tired. After days of walking this should have been normal, but he felt especially tired. Soon he began to sway a bit up until the point that Seven noticed, "One?" She asked and the male rebutted, "Yes?" Seven blinked and went beside him, "You're walking strange. Should we stop and rest?" The leader released a scoffing noise, "I am perfectly fine." However, it was soon obvious that he wasn't fine.

It was immediately obvious when One suddenly stumbled into Seven. She got ahold of him and held him steady as Two rushed up. "One?" He asked and seeing the leader's somewhat unfocused optics began to grow more concerned. "Alright, Seven, let's find someplace to stop for a bit." They moved a bit ahead behind the protection of a particularly thorny bush. Seven and Two bother helped One down and watched as he slowly began to falter more and more.

"He's probably overstrained." Two said sympathetically, "As Three was when we walked through the heat." Seven shook her head, "It's because he kept pacing every time he stopped. What was he thinking?" The Inventor turned to Five, "If you could, Five, I hear some sort of water nearby. Could you dampen one of our patch rags?" The Healer nodded and went off to search for the sound of the water.

Nine followed along with his friends and they began to search out the water. Eight, meanwhile, began to pull the branches out from the bush in an attempt to cover One from the sun more. Six followed after Nine and Five, catching up to them when they arrived at the edge of a small creek. He immediately backed away from the edge as he remembered falling into the 'river' made from the flood.

It was certainly natural, though. Neither Nine nor Five had seen something so beautiful before. It shimmered lightly in the sun and let out bubbling noises as the water ran over the smooth rocks. Five retrieved a piece of cloth from his knapsack and kneeled over the water. He dipped it in and enjoyed the cold water running over his hands before pulling back out. He squeezed a little water out before standing and heading back towards One.

Nine watched him as he headed back to their small, makeshift, base. Five kneeled beside One who Nine could see much of and he guessed that the cloth was laid on the leader's head. After this, he looked back to the creek, only to see that suddenly Six was halfway across. He stared in alarm, "Six?" Honestly, as afraid as he had been, Six wanted to step into the river. At the deepest point it was to his waist and cold, but not cold enough to make him as he was in the other river.

"What are you doing?" Nine asked and Six turned back with a smile, "I… Don't know." He splashed the water around him. "The water's nice." The zippered male watched him for a second. Then he suddenly stuck his Lightstaff into the ground and approached. He sort of slid down the slope into the water and waded out to where Six was. The smooth rocks in the bottom of the stream were slick with something green and Nine guessed that it was some sort of plant.

"I like this." Six pointed out, looking up at the trees towering high above. "I like it here." In response, Nine smiled; this trip wasn't so bad.

Nightfall overtook and One was feeling at least a bit better. He was now sitting up, though a bit groggy, and refusing the cloth that Two kept pressing to his face every little while. "I am fine." He insisted, "I just overheated." Two chuckled, "You overstrained yourself, more like. You need more rest and maybe you'll be fine to move tomorrow." Five had made a small fire, easy with the abundance of wood, and they were relaxing in its warm glow.

After Nine and Six's time in the river it was obvious that they'd be wet for a while. As such, both were now shivering. Eight was obviously upset about Six going into the river, but passively sat there with an annoyed look. He was rather cold and remained keeping up his uncaring front when the Artist sat beside him. Though it was a little harder to keep it up when Six pressed into his side.

Nine rubbed his head tiredly, but eventually managed to get warm enough that he could move away and be comfortable. After days of walking, it was great to get another night to rest, and he fell asleep immediately.

* * *

When it began to rain as the Stitchpunks were walking in a less covered area than before, they began to grow hesitant. Seven and Child both went ahead to seek out shelter and the Warrior came back successful. A small, rickety house resided some ways away in the middle of the barren landscape. They quickly approached in an attempt to get out of the rain. Thankfully, one of the windows was able to be wedged open by Eight who ducked inside to look around.

Eight's impression of the house was that it was very small and very dusty. There only seemed to be three rooms; A small kitchen with a couch in the corner, a bathroom with worn tile, and a small bedroom. The bedroom disturbed him the most as he clearly recognized what the lump on the bed was. Most likely a human's remains. Eight didn't get fearful, but it was disturbing, and he slipped back to the kitchen window.

"There's no beast in here, but there's…" One looked down into the house and the two exchanged looks. The leader understood, almost immediately, that Eight meant there was a human inside. He exhaled calmly, "Where?" Eight gestured back, "That bedroom back there. The rest of the house is empty." One rubbed his forehead, "Nobody enter the bedroom… it is… It is not safe." Human corpses disturbed One greatly, and it was obvious that he wanted to be nowhere near one.

The others slipped into the empty house cautiously. From the way One spoke, they decided not to risk going into the room. Instead, they were trapped into sleeping on the small, dirty couch. It was terrible, but nobody wanted to see what was in the bedroom. Of course, that didn't help them deal with each other on the couch. "Who kicked me?" Eight abruptly accused, starting what nearly became a war of frustrated Stitchpunks.

"Stop looking at me, Eight, I didn't do it." Child responded, followed by adding, "Nine is closer." Nine sat up and glared at him, "How could I twist my leg around to kick him? That is impossible." This was followed by the Guard growing more annoyed, "It just happened again, now dammit-!" Two suddenly chimed up with a warning of, "Language." Eight was out to find whoever was responsible and sat up, "Who's behind me?"

"Eight, lie down and go to sleep." One commanded, "And everyone stop moving immediately!" This wouldn't usually help, but whoever was kicking Eight abruptly stopped and the Stitchpunks attempted to get some sleep.

* * *

After days of walking, the Stitchpunks were exhausted, and no longer wanted to continue onwards. It was in the earlier morning when Two's optics could see something ahead. It soon occurred to him that they were buildings, grouping together, and he gasped before checking the map. "If I'm right," He said with a smile and pointed ahead, "this should be the outskirts of the city! Only a bit longer to make it into the city, isn't that amazing?!"

The others were as happy as they could be with being so exhausted and began to pick up their pace towards the city of Paris.

* * *

**Mable: I know it's choppy, but I wanted to condense a long trip, so I changed it into smaller segments of interesting things that occurred during the trip. It was a bit easier this way. ^-^ The next chapter shall be up tomorrow! I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	19. Chapter 19: The Inviting Surroundings

**Mable: Well, here's chapter nineteen! Anyway, not much else to say. I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Nineteen: The Inviting Surroundings_

The city stood pretty well after the Machine War. Especially when they moved deeper into the city did they begin to realize that the interior was almost completely standing intact with few destroyed building. Everything was towering high and so visible that they were getting the clearest glimpse of what it was like before the War that they ever could. It was by a large basin of a canal that they decided to presently stop as Five and Two addressed the map.

The others began to either sit near the edge of the canal or stand about patiently as they waited to be told where to go next. "Now there is a Cathedral, a very beautiful and very famous Cathedral in the center of the city." Two explained to Five, "I'd say not too far." He then added in quietly, "It was part of the reason One agreed to come." Five smiled at this and Two began to continue scouring the maps for said Cathedral. He was sure One wasn't the only person who would enjoy seeing a Cathedral again.

Meanwhile, the others entertained themselves by examining the most interesting thing in view; The Canal. Six peered over into the depth of the canal while perched on his hands and knees. With all of his recent events with water, he decided to be a bit cautious while yet still remained curious of the waterway. Seeing this, One walked up behind and began to direct his attention to him, "The humans built these to move water through the city. Even with them gone, it still stands, as do many things in the city."

"Not that much needed the humans to survive." Child suddenly spoke up. Honestly, this was expected. Since being trapped in the house with the human remains, Child had been in a foul mood, and was becoming even more bitter as every day passed by. This comment was an especially cold one, but went ignored by the other Stitchpunks, and Nine kneeled down beside Six to look down into the canal.

Presently, there was only a little water in the bottom, but Nine expected that the recently dry weather after the flood had to cause it. "Why did they want water through the city like this? Wouldn't it get a little dirty?" Again, Child retorted, "Why does it matter? Humans care little for such matters; let the poor and exiled drink dirt." He was clearly in a bad mood and Nine couldn't understand why.

Unfortunately, days of walking had left Nine a bit sour as well, and his hands clenched as he rested his Lightstaff onto the ground. He then waited for any other comment, readying himself to pounce upon it. Then, only a few seconds later, he heard Child let out a huff, and he knew it was him. Nine stood and turned towards Child with an obvious disapproving look, "I know you have problems with humans and I know you're upset about how long we've been walking, but you can be happy for once."

"Forgive me. I forgot that we were celebrating arriving at the outskirts of nowhere." Child retorted and the zippered male huffed, "You just can't be happy with anything; and we're not _nowhere. _We're in Paris." One began to perk up and looked to the two with a surprisingly tired look, "Calm down, both of you. We will be at the Cathedral shortly; then you do not have to be anywhere near each other."

This didn't help to calm either down and the darker Stitchpunk didn't seem ready to stop what Nine and him had begun. He was also glaring now and staring down Nine who had seen the red optics in their piercing gaze enough that they no longer unnerved him. "You cannot blame me for being weary, and tired, and not interested in water. You, on the other hand, could be interested in any meaningless task. Whether it is dirt, water, or dirt filled water. You're very simple that way."

"You're just stubborn and you always have to be right!" Nine pointed out as his fists clench and Child retorted with the first retort he could come up with, "And you have very feminine hips!" All the other Stitchpunks, who had not seen the situation as bad enough to intervene, now looked over in a mix of confusion and shock. The comment even took Nine aback, "I- What?" Child saw he hit a nerve and continued to delve, "Yes, surprisingly more feminine than even Seven's."

Nine looked down, looked up, and his face contorted to anger. "You don't- I mean- That's it! I'm not even going to ask what-!" Nine went to take a few steps back, almost self-consciously, until his foot caught his Lightstaff and he ended up stumbling into Eight who let out a grunt as the burlap one slammed into his front. It would have been almost comical if it had stopped there. The staff also, being turned by the action of Nine tripping, hit Six enough that he began to lose balance.

With that, One managed to leap ahead and grab ahold of Six's legs, pulling the striped one back onto the cement where he was before. The Leader then turned to Nine and Child to scold them, when Six alerted him by crying out in horror. "It's gone! _It's gone!_" The Artist jumped to his feet and began to run to a more even edge of the canal while no paying any attention to the others. Risking everything, he quickly edged down the side of the cement basin, heading towards the water.

Eight abruptly pushed Nine off, who managed to regain footing surprisingly quickly, and took off after the smaller Stitchpunk. Five also ran with Eight after Six and the two skidded down the edge to Six's level. Eight managed to snatch Six back before he would have a chance to enter the water, "What are you doing?!" Six sounded horrified and hysterical, "The water- it's gone- I have to get it!"

He cried out desperately and Eight shook him, "Six, get a grip!" Five also ran up to stand beside them, looking concerned, "Six, are you okay?" That's when Six began to cry out in distraught, "My key! I lost my key and now it's gone and now I'm never going to get it back!" The Guard never saw Six act like this before. The Artist dropped his head into his hands and began to babble, words not understandable, and sounding like he was choking.

Five approached and tried to calm down Six as Eight moved away. Five held him steady and was trying to convince him that it would be alright. A few seconds later they were caught by One screaming. "Eight, get out of there!" Five looked over into the water while holding Six steady and soon realized that Eight was promptly wading through the water. Every few seconds he would bend over and once even came up with a coin that looked like the one One would carry.

Only a few minutes later and Eight came back. Without a word he slipped the now wet key over Six's head and around his neck once again. He went to climb back up the side when suddenly he felt Six lock onto his arm. Not a single word Six uttered, he just embraced his arm, and Eight reached up and ruffled his yarn. No words could express Six's gratitude, but the action was enough to make Eight grasp it.

Nine had turned to pick up his Lightstaff after Eight pushed him away and picked it up. He checked it over and tried to turn it on. To his confusion, it wouldn't come on, and soon turned to horror. The more he tried, the more he panicked, and soon he realized that something was wrong with it. Before he could bother longer, he heard a commotion and looked down at the scene with Six and Eight.

Once it was finished and everything was alright, Nine went to address the Lightstaff, only to realize that it was missing. As such, Nine looked around for Child, and soon realized he was missing too. Before he could even ask, One spoke, "Just let him go, Nine. He needs to calm himself. He is acting irrational." The zippered male should've agreed, but he felt badly for some reason. It didn't go away.

* * *

After the incident at the canal, the Stitchpunks continued through the streets of Paris. Two began to point out interesting things and eventually convinced One to enter an old china shop that the twins were very interested in. One agreed and they entered the building that was in actually stunning condition. Save one plate that lay shattered on the floor, most of the rest of the precious material was intact.

Six began to scour for paper and was assisted by Seven and Five, Three and Four began to overlook a collection of porcelain dolls, and Eight guarded One and Two who were interested in a teacup that resembled the Scientist's. "I swear, remember that tea cup!" Two spoke up, "With the willows painted upon the side. I swear it looked just like this." One nodded, "Very much. It must be of the same set." He began to tilt the cup over, "Let us see… There was writing on the bottom of Father's. This one is blank."

"Perhaps this one wasn't from the same manufacturer?" Two suggested, "We must be wrong." One looked over it closer, "I doubt he would have gotten his cup in Paris." Eight was slowly losing interest and looked back towards the others. His optics landed on Six who had the exact opposite problem. After not finding anything, Seven was whisked away by the twins and Five was over checking on Nine was still standing in the entranceway, which left Six alone.

Then those mismatched optics landed on the Guard and lit up. Eight suddenly had a bad feeling that he was going to be brought into something. Six climbed to Eight's level and voiced his problem, "There's no paper here. I was- I was going to try the next door, but Seven and Five are busy, and I don't want to go alone." Once again, Eight had a choice, and unfortunately he had a flash back to the river from the flood. Just to stop it from forming, he spoke up, "Okay, okay, but we're not staying gone long."

He saw no need to tell One and the two exited the shop. They passed Five and Nine who were talking by the entrance, Nine sounding sad. "I shouldn't have tried to fight with him. I know he's been upset and I should've been patient." Five smiled, "It's hard to be patient sometimes. Especially since we're all tired." The zippered one looked over, "You manage to do it." Five chuckled a bit sheepishly, "Well…. Umm… I guess I'm good at it."

This managed to make Nine smile and he began to ask another question when One spoke up. "Five, please mark this place on your map. We will be returning here before we return to Luxembourg." Both him and Two were looking at a small platter, only big enough to hold a teacup, with two birds painted on it. A bird was blue and the other was red. Being the Leader and Inventor's favorite colors probably caught their attention.

Nine smiled at it before faltering, "So… Where do you think Child went?" Five shrugged, "He probably didn't go far. He could be just outside the door. I just think he probably wanted to be alone." Nine agreed as such. Though he could suppress the feeling that he did something wrong. While Five approached the older Stitchpunks, looking at his map, Nine decided to go find Seven and the twins.

"It would be easiest if Six draws it." Two mentioned to Five, "So that you don't have to worry about our 'quill' that seldom works." The quill was just a curved piece of metal that had to be dipped into the ink repeatedly to write well. Six was the obvious choice and he looked around for him, "Six?" It was only then that he realized Six was completely gone. Once One looked around and noticed two Stitchpunks were missing, he grew incredibly furious.

Meanwhile, Eight was helping Six search for paper. The store filled beside the china filled one had odd glass displays with little pieces of colorful metals and stones. Eight didn't know why they were locked away so well. They just looked like rocks to him, save that they were a little colorful. That's when Six spoke, "I found some!" there were old writings on the papers, but the backs were clean and Six decided they were good enough to use.

That's when, suddenly, Five appeared in the entranceway. "Six? Eight?" Eight glanced back nonchalantly, "Yeah?" The Healer smiled, "We were looking for you two." With that, Eight suddenly looked terrified, "Watch Six." He commanded and dashed off towards the china filled shop. While he did this, probably trying to smooth things over with One, Five decided to peer around the store. The colorful stones caught his eye more than Eight's and he knew they were gems.

He managed to use his pair of shears to break into the edge of one of the displays and reach in. He purposely opened it by a small pendant that was shaped like a star with a tiny white stone in it, cloudy and lovely. Five couldn't find a chain, as pendants were hung around necks, and decided he's find something else to make do with. Six was waiting for him by the door and he helped Six carry some of the paper after he slipped the pendant into his bag.

Six was more than willing to defend Eight when he got to the shop. Which was good, because One was going off, "You know better, Eight. You have little idea of where we are and yet you still wander off. With Six, who already was-!" The Artist spoke up, "One, I had to get paper, it was my fault." The leader turned on him, "Then be more careful." With that, he turned to the others. "Let us find the Cathedral before dark."

Honestly, Eight knew One was purposely easier on Six, thinking the Artist was an innocent youth who needed to be protected. He was actually glad that the leader went so easy and looked to Six. Six returned the look, released a small smile, and continued behind One.

* * *

It began to get dark when they saw the large building before them. It was tall with stretching towers and a large round window on its front. As they entered in, they could see the large stained glass windows along the walls. The inside of the Cathedral looked much more stable than the Cathedral in Luxembourg had. The pews still stood, the windows were mostly intact, and the entire Cathedral was dark from little light coming in from outside.

Thankfully, after some searching they could find a few half melted candles and set them about the front pews to alight the area. For the first time in a while, One seemed content, and was finally allowing himself to calm. "Was it worth it?" Two asked to which One softly nodded, "Yes, it was." The Inventor chuckles and the Leader huffed, "That does not mean that this was not a foolish idea." Two retorted quickly, "Oh yes, it certainly does."

While they were all seemingly content and pleased, Nine was at the heavy Cathedral doors that were cracked open. After a while of this, he began to hear movement outside, and stepped a few feet out. "Child?" With that, he seemed to suddenly appear, and Nine could see him walking up. He noticed how the other continued to eye the ground and was clearly holding Nine's Lightstaff. Without an answer, he handed it over.

Nine, confused, looked down at the Lightstaff in his grasp, and tried to turn it on. To his alarm, this time it came on and he looked up questioningly. "I was out of line." That was all Child said, looking away, and so Nine looked at the staff, "I… I was too. Thank you for fixing this." Child nodded, "It is all you have to defend yourself; you cannot afford to lose it." The two stood there awkwardly before Nine gestured to the door, "Want to come inside?"

With that, Child stepped ahead, only for Nine to suddenly stop, "No, wait." He changed his mind and exhaled softly, "Why do we keep doing this? Why do we keep fighting?" The other Stitchpunk looked curious, "I have two theories; The simple one and the detailed one." The zippered one shrugged and forced a smile, "How about we try the detailed one."

"As two males of similar age; you possible late adolescence and I at early adulthood, we are bound by nature to compete. From this we will continue to spur onward until we enter elderly age and, God forbid one of us turns into One, we find equal ground and feel no need to compete." Nine just stared at Child for a few seconds before quietly asking, "What about the simple one?" He received a shrug, "Tired from the walk?"

"Let's go with that." Nine insisted with a brighter smile and began to enter the Cathedral. Halfway in, he stopped, and looked back. "So… Umm… Did you really think I had-?" Child huffed, "No." Though he had a feeling the other male glanced in a downwards direction curiously when he wasn't looking.

* * *

**Mable: Maybe Nine's hips shouldn't be brought up in a conversation. ^-^ At least they're in the Cathedral now. Or 'a' Cathedral now. Actually, if you'd like clearer details; the Stitchpunks used to live in the 'Notre Dame Cathedral of Luxembourg'. The Cathedral in Paris is the 'Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris', and is the same Cathedral from the 'Hunchback of Notre Dame'. I hope everyone enjoyed, and a new chapter will be up tomorrow!**


	20. Chapter 20: The Unknown Siren

**Mable: Chapter twenty! Whew, twenty chapters, and the longest I used to write were only about twelve or so… Anyway, I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Twenty: The Unknown Siren_

Seven was the first person to awaken from the noise. Her optics flickered open and her audio receptors strained to listen for whatever awoke her. That's when she realized that it was the distinct sound of a siren. Almost like the ones from the Chancellor Beasts, but louder, higher pitched, and causing her to become anxious. She slipped on her bird skull helmet and lifted her spear before heading towards the entrance to the Cathedral.

The bright morning sun didn't give any indication of anything troubling occurring and she scanned the area around the Cathedral. She heard footsteps behind her, but wasn't concerned, especially when it turned out to just be Two. "Is that a siren?" He asked cautiously and peered about as well. Slowly, the others were also beginning to awaken, and Two voiced his thoughts to Seven.

"I doubt a Chancellor could have followed us this far." He explained and Seven nodded, "What else could make such a noise?" The Inventor shrugged a bit, "Well… An actual siren. Humans would use them to warn of weather and such, I believe." This left Seven with a terrible feeling. She took a step back into the Cathedral and looked to Two, "You think… You think that a human…?"

"Oh no!" Two retorted, "No, no, I'm thinking that the recent flood caused a short circuit and is causing the alarm to sound. I do think it may have rained last night so maybe that triggered it." With that, a scoff came from behind, and both Stitchpunks turned back to face One. He stood there looking quite haughty and yet disturbed. "An alarm triggers the day after we arrive in the city. From the rain or from us? It would seem that, clearly, your idea is no the truth."

Seven was quick to Two's defense, "We've seen no sign of Beasts, One. It is, at least, plausible." She wasn't the only one to believe this either. Nine soon appeared to stand beside her nodding, to add his opinion even when One doubted he knew what they were talking about. "It will attract Beasts." Eight spoke up, "No matter what it is. It's not good for us." They all became aware quickly of how dangerous this could be to them.

"Eight, you are correct." Two broke the silence calmly, "We have to locate the location of the alarm and silence it before it lures beasts who expect the Chancellor." The others began to agree and nod to show such. They grabbed up their weapons and soon took out of the Cathedral to find the source of the bellowing siren. It wasn't hard to locate the large, majestic looking building as it was surrounded with a plaza, obviously distinguishable.

Oddly enough, Nine suddenly spoke up, "I want to go in alone." The others looked in confusion and One spoke up, "Alone? That is preposterous." Seven also spoke up, "Nine, reconsider this." Nine was insistent, though. "I can go in and shut it off quickly. If we all go in, the beasts can come in and corner us." Five spoke up, "Let me come, Nine. Two of us would be better than one, just in case there is something in there." Nine agreed and the two hurried into the entranceway, since the doors were surprisingly open.

A few minutes passed, the siren stopped and didn't come back on, then nothing. Nine and Five never came back outside. Soon, the Stitchpunks were becoming concerned. Seven even noticed that a usually relatively passive Child was pacing back and forth. She finally stood and approached him, "They've been in a long time. I think someone should go in." Child looked back quizzical and she flicked her optics over to the building's entrance.

Soon, he realized that she wanted to go in, and wanted him to come with. With a soft huff, he answered, "Fine. Let's go." Seven turned to One, "We're going in to check where Nine and Five are." One waved her off and continued speaking to Eight and Two. With this answer, the two began to head inside. Three saw them leaving and felt badly. Here her mate was inside the building, could be injured, and she could only stand out here because everyone believed she was still a child.

As such, she suddenly got the nerve to take a few steps, and then outright follow the two from a safe distance. Every time she thought one would like back she would stop at the second. They entered into the large building and began to look around. Right away, they noticed something was wrong in the building. Starting with odd strings hanging near the roof of the entranceway that immediately caught the Stitchpunks' attention.

The deeper they went, more strings appeared, and Seven touched a small bundle that was hanging lot. A thick, sticky liquid coated the strings and it was a little hard to remove her hand from the string. "It's like…" She tried to come up with the words, but was having trouble pinpointing what she wanted to say. Child chimed in, "A web." She was distressed as he examined the sticky strands, "Almost like spiders that spin webs to entrap prey. However, you have seen the only Beasts resembling Spiders, and they clearly can't spin webs."

"Then what could?" Seven asked quickly and the male shrugged in a nonchalant manner. They decided to continue on, now watching their surroundings closer. However, Three hadn't seen the event, and wasn't being nearly as cautious. As they continued into an odd room full of strange tables covered in papers, Child suggested humans used to work here, Three decided to do her own, closer examination.

Especially when she found something surprisingly. While Seven and Child were on the far side of the room, Three climbed onto the table and found something bizarre on thick mug. She believed it was a piece of paper until it spread small, gray wings and fluttered to the table. She looked back through all her information she had stored with Four in the past. First, she assumed 'butterfly', but then changed her mind to 'moth'.

It certainly looked like a Moth. Not exactly like the drawings, but close. As Three tried to approach it flew again, before accidently hitting one of the strands. It obviously had its legs stuck and Three felt badly. She quietly pushed the heavy mug to the edge of the table and climbed atop it. Balancing one foot on the front edge and one on the back edge, she began to lean forward, and carefully helped the Moth separate itself from the string.

Thankfully, it started to come free, slowly but surely. Three leaned a bit farther when something suddenly went wrong. Apparently, the mug wasn't as heavy as she expected, and began to tip forward. There was no time to stop the tipping before she started to fall forward. Uncontrollably, she grabbed onto the string, and began to fall downwards. It actually broke apart in one spot and began to fall faster before stopping abruptly.

Thankfully, she had fallen into a tangle of the strings that stopped her before she hit the ground. Unfortunately, she soon found that the tangle was much more difficult to get out of than the single string's stickiness. At least the Moth was freed, as she noticed it flutter by, before being alerted by the sound of shattering glass behind her. The mug had to have finally rolled off the table and looking between her feet she could see a few shard of it.

Suddenly she had idea. Since her bottom half and waist were so stuck, she guessed that if she free her arms and managed to twist herself upside down that she could reach for a shard of the mug and slice at the strings that confined her. Three was able to pull both arms free, as the right was only connected to one strand and the left could be assisted by the right. Her chest was free, so she attempted to rock herself until she could hang upside down.

It wasn't too difficult. The webbing twisted together enough that she was soon in the position and began to desperately reach down. A new problem emerged as she noticed that she wasn't hanging down as far as she expected that she would be. It wasn't too much longer that she heard footsteps and realized that she was about to be caught. When Seven and Child appeared she could only force a bashful smile as she hung there.

"Three?" Seven asked in confusion and the little Librarian gave a small wave of embarrassment. She was soon cut down by Seven's spear and back on her feet. There was no reason to ask why the smaller Stitchpunk followed as they already had their suspicions. "You shouldn't have come, Three." Seven softly scolded in a mother-like fashion and Three felt a little annoyance that was obvious in the desperate look across her face.

Her optics flickered pitifully to confront her about how distressed she was. To get her point across, Three decided to even try something else, and began to mouth the words in a desperate way to get the words through to the older female. Clearly, even though no words appeared, Seven could get the message. "I'm not a child." For a second, Seven was to protest, but decided not to after a second.

"Stay close and stay behind us." She said quickly and turned away. Three was surprised that Seven actually let her come and followed as agreed. Child decided not to let it drop, "Why did you change your mind?" The female exhaled calmly, "I wouldn't have, because I still think it is too dangerous for her, but all I could think was how much she sounded like me and how much I sounded like One."

"You do, occasionally." Seven looked over at Child with a small glare to show her resentment to the comment while Child released a playful smirk. This soon dropped at he stared ahead, "What…" Seven could see ahead of them that a large portion of the wall had fallen away. Inside was a thick nest of the webbing. In fact, the entire room was much more filled than the last, especially the ceiling that looked like it had a large cone of web in the center, tunneling into an unknown location.

What caught Child's attention were a few odd shapes that were enwrapped in webs. The figures looked horrifyingly Stitchpunk like and because of such they hurried over. Seven immediately went for the closest tethered shape and began to cut in open. After removing parts of the sticky webbing they realized it was Five. Three began to rip the webs off and looked into the male's optic. It was dilated and unresponsive, and she was relieved as Five was thankfully alive, just seemingly unfocused.

It reminded her of the Seamstress and, from the way Seven was now looking about, it seemed she realized this as well. Child managed to rip the webs off of Nine and realized that he was also in the same condition as Five, "It is like they are in some sort of trance." He lifted Nine's Lightstaff, which had been wrapped with him, and turned the light on, shining it into the Stitchpunk's face. His optics shrunk from the light and Child exhaled, "Yes, he's just in a trance. His body is reacting normally."

That's when the sound of a siren began to again bellow from nearby. It was duller, but closer, and the three turned back to see something leap down from the web tunnel onto the ground before them. It was a large, mechanical monster with eight symmetrical legs and a round abdomen on its backside. Large blades simulated fangs and many little red optics swiveled to lock onto each Stitchpunk. Unlike the spider resembling Repair Beast, this truly looked and acted like an Arachnid.

Seven turned to Three, "Run! Warn the others!" Then pulled her helmet down to prepare for battle. Child beat her to it, launching himself at the Beast, so Seven took the time to address Nine. Three managed to pull Five's arm around her shoulders and drug him along as fast as she could. Seven threw Nine over her back like a ragdoll and began to follow after the two only to notice the scene behind them.

Child was trying to attack the Arachnid Beast when it sounded its alarm again. At that second, Child faltered, and suddenly collapsed; redness disappearing from his dilating optics. It was the Siren; when Stitchpunks were close enough it somehow hypnotized them. Thankfully, the Beast's siren shut off quickly, like it was having trouble using it for too long, so Seven put Nine down and ran to leap towards the Beast.

It was so quick that it pinned her down in a heartbeat and tried to enwrap her in more strings that were coming from its abdomen, using its claws to enwrap her frame. Only twice around and it abruptly stopped, looking around. Apparently it suddenly noticed that the other two were missing and hurried to finish enwrapping Seven. Then she was dropped upon the ground, struggling all she could and trying to get the glued strings off of her.

Three had made it past the destroyed coffee mug and was trying to move as fast as she could. That was when she heard noises coming from behind and had a horrific feeling that the Machine was coming from behind. She looked back and silently gasped as she saw it climbing across the ceiling towards her. She quickened her pace, running as fast as she could, and soon managed to burst out of the entrance of the building. The others had no indication anything was wrong until seeing her run towards them.

They started to approach before a few optics targeted towards something behind her. She knew the beast appeared and drug Five to Two, dropping him into his grasp, and grabbing onto the needle harpoon that Five usually used. She didn't know how to work with it, but was trying anything and managed to shove a needle in as ammo. She shakily tried to aim as Eight unsheathed his knife and started forward. Three didn't have time to warn him before the Arachnid released the siren again, now much weaker, but still able to stop the guard.

Since he stood standing, Three guessed that he hadn't been hit as badly as Nine and Five who were hit strong. The Arachnid went toward the group comprised of One, Two, Three, and Five, Four now rushing up to her sister, so Six tried to take its attention. "Over here!" He jumped up and down and cried loudly, but it cared little. Finally he decided that if it wouldn't notice he would force it to notice. He focused and used his telekinesis to yank the Arachnid Beast in his direction.

It seemed furious at the action and spun to face him, assuming from the direction that Six was the culprit. It didn't even bother with the siren and instead brought its claw down to stab at the striped Artist. He fell back onto the ground, rolled out of the way, and managed to get back to his feet quick enough to make a dash away. It suddenly only wanted him and Six knew it.

Three tried to shoot after the Arachnid Beast, but ended up missing. Thankfully, Five was beginning to come to, and soon realized what was going on. Seeing him, Three beamed, and nearly threw the needle harpoon into his arms. He was able to get into action as One tried to awaken Eight who was slowly coming to. A direct hit with a needle to the back of the Arachnid Machine's abdomen. It was enough to cause the Arachnid Beast to stumble.

"Its abdomen is its weak point!" Two called out before looking over to gasp, "Oh, Nine, Seven!" Looking over, Three could see the other two Stitchpunks dashing up. Nine was still stumbling and Seven was dragging some web threads with her. Child was missing, though Three considered him the safety. Seven went straight for the Beast that was distracted with Five and circled around to its abdomen. Now she noticed it had obvious open spaces in the plates and leapt onto the back to shove her spear into an open crack.

It shrieked and seemingly knocked Eight into realization. He began to head towards it as well, Child appeared, the Stitchpunks banded together to fight, and immediately the Machine grabbed ahold of Seven off of its back. It slammed her to the hard, stone ground. She actually let out a cry of pain from the hit as her spear dropped from her hand. The Arachnid began to lift her off of the ground to slam her down again.

Eight beat the others to slam his knife down into the creature's abdomen, only to break it open. To his alarm he realized the plates should have remained shut as he could now see a mess of wires, sharp metal parts, and a bunch of thick, clear liquid that splattered on him. It was the liquid used to cover the webs and was making it harder for Eight to move. The Arachnid Beast's eyes locked on Eight and it swung its arm to knock him back, throwing Seven into him.

Five took another shot and struck it in the leg, but the Machine didn't stop. It managed to somehow shoot more of the liquid in their direction, though. Two grabbed onto the twins and dove to the side as Five stumbled in the opposite direction. The Arachnid turned back to Seven and Eight, rearing up to slam down upon them. Suddenly, a loud noise that sounded like grinding and sheering came from the Beast. It convulsed, its legs curled in, and its eyes grew dim.

They all stared at it. "What in the hell just happened to it?!" Eight asked from his position on the ground, somewhat holding the pained Seven. Six called out, "I threw a rock into it." The others stared. Then One spoke, "This monstrosity stops us in our tracks, weaves a web around us, throws us about, nearly kills us, and you finished it with a single rock?" The Artist walked around the Beast, nodding. "It was about this big." He held his hands apart, but not very far.

After a few seconds, Child announced, "Well. I feel weak and useless. That must mean that my work is done here." A few of the others began to relax. Three wandered over to Five and latched onto him, rising on her tiptoes and pulling Five's head down enough so that she could cover his face in kisses. He accepted this and held her close, letting his own mouth lightly touch her face.

Two crossed to Seven to check her over. "Are you okay? Where does it hurt?" Eight answered, "Well, first I can't move." One added in, "Eight, you will be fine." Apparently he was concerned for Seven as well. Seven began to sit up, "I'm okay. It just hurt my… Everything." She exhaled calmly and Two kept her steady. "Don't stand, yet." He then turned to Eight who was starting to get the stickiness off of himself.

Slowly, they pulled themselves together, and moved back to the safety of the Cathedral once again.

* * *

**Mable: End of Chapter! Yeah, it ended quickly, but they were rushing home and One told me to stop following them XD Anyway, the next chapter will be up tomorrow, I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	21. Chapter 21: The Elegant Chateau

**Mable: Chapter Twenty-One! I'm getting more and more shocked at how high the numbers are getting. Though there's a sense of pride that I have finally gotten this far in the story. ^-^ I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Twenty-One: The Elegant Chateau _

It had only been a day after the Arachnid Beast attacked. After hiding inside the Cathedral for the rest of the day, they had decided to continue their search of Paris the next morning. A few were still hesitant, mostly One, but they had decided that the Arachnid Beast was more of a bad coincidence than a bad omen. Still, they were quieter when they travelled, and watching their steps.

A decent while of walking and exploring had led them to uncovering something quite amazing. Or, at least, amazing to them. It was a large building, larger in length and height to the one the present day, and was built very finely with heavy statues out before its doors. At this point they had noticed that the land they had been walking on used to be cultivated nicely, but now was barren; even old waterways were dried.

Naturally, Two was the first to approach, and the others eagerly followed. As the front doors were, surprisingly, locked, they began to search for another way in. Eventually the managed to find weak panel in a large arch window and Eight shattered it enough that they could climb inside. To their surprise, it looked just as lovely on the inside, if not more. "Look at this!" Two gasped in awe, staring around at how nice the building was.

"Where are we?" Five asked in confusion. His optic was actually looking up at the roof which seemed much higher than in a usual building. One, who was usually the first to insist they left, was also seemingly curious about the building, and assumed by the locked door that it was mostly safe. "Eight and I will continue on ahead." This usually meant that he wanted to continue at his own pace and none of the others stopped him. Six, however, followed behind them both.

After passing through the door at the end of the hall, the three were struck by what else lay inside. The room was much larger than the past hall and was in beautiful condition. Old paintings rested upon the wall over what looked to be carvings in the paneling and small, neatly placed chairs were all strategically placed among the room. More windows, still spreading nearly across the height of the wall while being square shaped, let in enough sunlight to brighten the entire room.

"This is extraordinary!" One sudden gasp showed just how impressed he was. "Look at this. Look at this design work." He continued on speaking about, approaching the panels and running his fingers over each etch. "It must have taken a century to build such a place." This final comment was whispered, almost as though he decided to begin talking to himself and not the other present Stitchpunks.

Six was also in awe, but of the beautiful paintings on the wall. His mismatched optics scanned their images and he felt wonder swell inside. At the same time he also began to feel something else. "_How could I draw something like that?" _He thought in a melancholy fashion. Looking at his pen tipped hands he could only see his scratched drawings, not lovely paintings like saw before him now.

"You okay?" Eight must have noticed that he looked upset and Six waved it off. "I'm okay." He smiled to show he was. Honestly, even with that bit of self-doubt, Six was still excited and still wanted to see more of the building. When the others began to enter the same room, Six saw his chance, and looked up to Eight, "Eight, let's go look around, just us." Eight was immediately confused, "I can't leave the Boss."

"But the others came in." Six encouraged, "If he asks I'll tell him I made you leave. Please?" All Six could think of was that he was feeling a tad upset and wanted to explore with Eight. He didn't know why, but he just wanted to be with Eight, and he wanted Eight to pay attention to only him. It made him feel a bit badly, though. Eight finally caved and let his arms fall out of their cross. "Only a second." To this, Six beamed, and grabbed Eight's hand to drag him away.

One didn't even notice as he began to show the others the interesting art on the walls. The two Stitchpunks exited out of another door and went to explore the rest of the building. More doors were available and Six chose one at random. To his awe he saw another room with paintings on the wall that looked beautiful. This room had a table in the center and more of the chairs from before, looking nice, though dusty.

Six's optics stopped on a picture of a human woman. "Eight…" He started, "What do you think of that picture?" Eight seemed to be confused by the comment and looked to the picture. "Looks like a female human." The Artist grabbed onto his key and rubbed his sharp fingers over its cool metal. "Do you think she looks nice?" Eight raised an eyebrow and shrugged before folding his arms again, "Yeah, for a human."

"Do you think she looks nicer than one of my drawings?" Six whispered and Eight answered, "No. I think she just has more color. We only have black." What surprised Six wasn't that Eight said the comment, but that Eight said it like he wasn't trying to make Six feel better. It was his honest opinion. It caused Six to smile before Eight suddenly was looking shocked, staring at the opposite wall.

Six looked back as well and jumped back. "Ah!" He cried in alarm. There, hanging upon the wall, was a bizarre head of some sort of creature. It looked like it was covered in thin brown fur and had long horns that looked like branches. It only took a few seconds to realize it wasn't alive. Eight began to approach it, his shocked look turning to scrutiny, "What is that supposed to be?"

"I don't know." Six chimed in helplessly as he followed along as almost to hide behind the Guard. Eight turned back to him, "Think you can pull it down?" Six's optics widened, "You want me to…" Eight had an evil smile, like he knew he was doing something bad and yet added in, "Consider it training." The Artist nodded and focused on the creature's head. He moved his hands up, almost pointing at the head, and focused to move it down.

It took a few seconds as something kept it attached to the wall. Six began to grow more and more desperate until he finally used all his strength. It suddenly flew off of the wall and even managed to hit the other wall before crashing to the ground. Eight gave Six an impressed look before crossing over to the head on the floor. Eight looked it over cautiously as Six was more forward. He ignored the dull throb in his head and wandered to its face.

Something was odd about the eyes and he tapped on it with a single pen tip. There was something definitely wrong and he could somewhat recognize something that he was trying to remember. Eight, meanwhile, began to reach up to touch the branching horns. When he rested a foot on the head, then rested his weight on it, it fell through. "Oh, that's just great." He groaned in annoyance and struggled to pull back out. That's when Six noticed something about the hollowed hole and smiled with a brief chuckle.

"It's fake!" Eight looked over, "What?" Six pointed into the hole, "The head isn't real! See? It's hollow. I noticed the eyes were strange too. They must be made of glass." The Guard didn't know whether to be discouraged that it wasn't real or relieved that his foot didn't get stuck in something that was dead. Six looked up, "The horns must be wood." He cautiously climbed onto the head. Being much lighter than Eight he had no trouble and felt over a horn base.

His brows furrowed and the taller noticed, "Something wrong?" Six tapped the horn, felt it, and then looked to Eight, "They aren't wood. I think… I think it's bone." He sounded concerned and Eight managed to even his weight to climb up and touch the horn. "That makes sense. The head must be fake to show the horns off." The Artist blinked, "But… But it's bone, like the bones in the Machines, like human bones."

"It is bone." Eight pointed out, "These things, like human's versions of our beasts, had horns made out of bone. They fought with them to defend their family." With this, Six nodded and smiled, "Like Seven does." Eight paused and Six playfully added in, "And you." Still, Eight stayed silent, and Six became concerned. "Eight? What's wrong?" The Guard looked to the door, "I just realized that something like this, bringing this head down, me stepping in it, would cause One to have a meltdown."

Six winced and got an equal look of terror. Immediately after, Six climbed off of the head and the two headed straight to the door to escape the evidence.

* * *

Nine had noticed the door with the colorful glass panes and decided to see what was on the other side. He managed to push one of the panels out and climb through, seeing that it let outside. However, the outside was a shock. Apparently it was behind the building as it looked nothing like the front of the building. There was a soft slope of luscious, green grass that led into a thicket of trees that was tinted with shade and mystery. The sun brightly shown through the blue sky and Nine was in awe.

There was no sign of a war, nothing touched by a Machine, just a beautiful scene. It excited him, especially the grass, and he ran out into it. The slope was gradual and he attacked it, purposely falling to roll in the grass. The others followed behind him and most watched with mixed reactions. Most were positive, but Child's was a bit quizzical, and as such he went to approach the zippered male. He looked down at Nine who was lying on his back, stretched out.

"What are you doing?" Nine looked up, "Laying here. Feel the grass." He invited and Child recoiled. "I think I rather stay up here." He looked back to see One and Two disappearing into the building again with Seven while Five and the twins began to walk down beside the building, looking at something ahead. "They others are leaving. We have to- Uh!" He felt weight onto his back as Nine crashed on top of him.

He hadn't even notice Nine stand and shoved him off, "Get off of me! What is the matter with you?!" Nine began to laugh in lighthearted bursts. He quickly rolled off of Child's back and stood to his feet. Child glared at him and Nine smiled, "Brighten up, Child. You can't have any fun!" Child made a grab at Nine, but the male leapt back, picked up his Lightstaff and began to run after Five and the twins.

Looking back, Child was already running, normally, but shockingly fast. Nine managed to speed his steps as he looked ahead. Closest nearby he could see an opening in the wall, a walkway, and guessed that the others had gone through there. Child was gaining fast and Nine took a sudden turn. The walkway was an open area with small rocks covering the walkway through another turn before letting into another room. This one had a long table with an arched wooden ceiling and marble floors.

His feet seemed to scramble as he went from stones to the much slicker floor. He managed to also run faster with this and continued to the left as he saw a clearly open door. Looking back, he could see that Child was still gaining and continued onwards. Through a small hall, Nine saw a library, and knew that was where Five and the twins were. As he was dashing down the aisles of books he sought out the others. Soon, he found them, and called to them.

"Five!" he called, forgetting for a second that he was being chased, and suddenly felt something slam into his legs. Child had to have slid into him and Nine crashed to the floor painfully. A single look at Child made Nine realize that the attack was a mistake, as he looked shook up, and Nine realized that he hadn't been able to stop in time. Five actually laughed at the scene, knowing neither were hurt and that both were just a bit annoyed, and even the twins peered from what they were doing.

They soon drug out a book and the group began to settle in. Nine and Child pointedly sat away from each other while Five and Three sat right beside each other. Four sat near Three, but not as close as Five had. They began to read of the writing when Five remembered the pendant from earlier. "Three… I'll be right back." He excused himself and quickly hurried away. She was certainly confused, but he didn't go far, as he only needed to be out of sight.

Once there, he began to grab the pendant and some of his stronger thread out of his bag, and then set to work.

* * *

"There you two are!" Two said brightly as he noticed Six and Eight in the same room that he had entered with Seven and One. It looked like a small, nicely put together bedroom that was not nearly as grand as the other rooms they had seen. "Taking a rest?" Indeed, Eight and Six were tired of walking. Eight was perched up on a chair in the corner, seemingly setting up a post that would allow him see the rest of the room from a safe distance.

Six, however, was on top of the bed, lying sprawled on his belly on the velvet comforter. "Find anything interesting?" Two asked and both of the Stitchpunks seemed to pause. After deciding not to bring up the deer head at all, Six spoke, "There's paintings everywhere. They're really nice." The Inventor nodded, "They are. Some of those may have been made many years ago as well." Eight chimed in without thinking, "They must have been, since they have humans in them."

It was no wonder that this comment wasn't addressed by the others. Instead, One turned to them both, "Come along. We still have not seen every room and thus do not know whether or not there are any Beasts in this building." Seven was the skeptic, "It is in too good condition to have Beasts running through it." One seemed to completely ignore this and started back out of the room.

Seven shook her head and Two chuckled at the leader's behavior. Eight climbed down from the chair and helped Six down from the bed before loyally following One. Six could only feel a little disappointed that Eight and him couldn't spend any more time alone, but managed to swallow it and decided to simply start a conversation with Seven.

* * *

Five nervously clutched the pendant and kept it secure behind his back as he approached the aisle where the others were. He calmly stopped near them and spoke up, "Th-Three? Could we talk?" His voice was changing pitch in odd ways and he couldn't understand why he was so nervous. All he knew was that he very much cared for Three and wanted to give her something to prove it. Three loyally stood, dismissing herself, and followed Five.

Noticing through a nearby window that it was sunset, he decided to lead her back out onto the grassy slope underneath the pink dyed sky. She smiled pleasantly and he began, "I… umm…. I got you something." She was curious, optics flashing in questioning, and he gave his own smile, "But you have to close your eyes." She playfully did so, waiting eagerly, and he slipped something over her head to rest around her neck. It ended up causing her hood to fall.

At first, he didn't know whether to continue or not, as Three rarely lowered her hood. Finally he put the item around her neck and she opened her optics. The beautiful pendant was hanging on two threads that had been weaved like a chain, a tan one and a red one, and Three looked at it in shock, but a bit of admiration. Soon she lifted the pendant to get a better look and was smiling uncontrollably. She was obviously thrilled and soon jumped up to embrace Five around the neck.

He was equally pleased and satisfied with the response, especially as he felt her lips make contact with his cheek more than once. Five then reached out and stroked her cheek lovingly, causing her to tremble, still with the smile. He felt need to say something and found himself admitting, "Three… I love you." The revelation somewhat shocked him even after he said it. It was like those words were more powerful than anything.

Three suddenly stopped moving as though she was having trouble processing what he had told her. She just stared at Five before suddenly flashing her optics vigorously. He took it as a positive and was smiling again. With this, Three desperately tried to speak, but nothing came out except for the mouth movements. Five could read lips well enough that he knew Three was saying that she loved him too.

Their lips met once again and they exchanged another passionate kiss. Everything seemed to make sense in their world, but, shockingly, someone wasn't pleased with this new arrangement. The same Stitchpunk that was presently watching the scene from afar.

* * *

**Mable: Oh, whose upset with Five and Three's love? All to be seen in the next chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed and the next chapter will be up tomorrow!**


	22. Chapter 22: The Tantalizing Tower

**Mable: Here's chapter Twenty-Two! Honestly, I forgot to upload today. Thankfully I remembered. ^-^ I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

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_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Twenty-Two: The Tantalizing Tower_

It was cute at first, watching them being so lovey and sweet, but this was too much. Four knew what was coming once he heard those three words come from Five's mouth. Five loved Three, Three loved Five, they would become mates, exchange vows, maybe be able to have children, live in a pretty little house like in all those books and films of human families, and Four would be pushed away. Four was no longer Three's twin, Three's partner, and now had been demoted to a sibling only.

She waited until nightfall, when the others had curled up into a bedroom, before she went to view the library alone. The shelves of books seemed to be her only friends now and yet they didn't help her feel any better. It wasn't like Four was romantically interested in Five. In fact, she thought Three and Five's relationship was nice, until it had gotten this advanced. Instead, she couldn't believe she was willing to assist their relationship when it meant Three would lose any dependence on her twin.

Four still felt the dependence, she still felt like she wanted her twin and her to be together constantly and completely identical, and that couldn't happen if Three was with Five. Out of a spur of the moment decision, Four remembered when Three ran away, the beginning of the end, and as such her twin decided to go. She knew exactly where she wanted to go, too.

* * *

Seven was the first one up, as usual, and was the first to notice that one of the twins was missing. Three was curled into Five's chest sweetly while Four was nowhere to be seen. She began to grow almost frantic, knowing how dangerous it was for the twins to be alone, especially a single twin. Immediately she roused Eight from his sleep as he was up later than the others. "Eight, Four is gone." The Guard slowly came to and looked confused, "Whose gone now?"

"Four." Seven pointed out, "Did you see her?" Eight thought back and rubbed his head, "I didn't see her get up or anything. She must have waited until after I went to sleep." Now One was making unpleasant mutters as he began to enter alertness, "What- What is it? What's going on?" He finally managed to form as he sat up from his position of resting between the soft pillows. He knew immediately from Seven's face that something was wrong.

Soon, the others were awake and searching the surrounding rooms. Broken into group, they scanned the library, but found nothing in view. Soon, Five addressed the maps, and found something. "I think I know where she went!" He called to the others and was soon approached by Three who looked desperate. The other approached. "Speak up, Five, let's hear it!" One coaxed as Two came beside Five to scan the map. The Healer gestured at a spot that was circled repeatedly.

Two gasped, "The tower! We were going to head there eventually; she must have decided to go without us." Perhaps that one part was a stretch, but the tower had been a place that the twins were eager to see. Three even nodded in agreement as she clasped her small metal hands together in worry. "What tower?" Nine asked curiously and One was the one to speak, "France was well known in the world for its tower, the Eiffel Tower, as one of the tallest human made structures."

Six noticed how Eight suddenly got this weird look and looked up at him curiously. It disappeared as the Guard spoke, "We're climbing up that thing?" Two waved it off, "Hopefully not. She probably wouldn't climb it alone." With this, Seven felt the need to speak, "Something must have been wrong with her to leave like this." Automatically, Three knew it had to do with Five's gift and admission. That was the only thing that happened the day before and she had noticed her twin acting a little quiet after that point.

The guilt set in and Three covered her face pitifully. She soon felt a hand rest on her back, "She'll be okay, Three. We'll find her. I promise." Five forced a hopeful smile and Three accepted it with a nod before they were interrupted by Seven. "We should leave immediately." The others agreed with her and began to follow out of the Chateau. It didn't take too long to get to the tower, but it felt like an eternity.

Upon arriving at the tower, the Stitchpunks were shocked to see such a tall building, and the group stared upwards. It was soon obvious that there was a flaw in their plan. "She is not here." One pointed out as soon as he came to his conclusion while Two spoke up, "She could have gone up the stairs into the tower." One huffed, "Very well. Seven, Eight, Child, come with me and we shall search the higher floors."

"Yeah, about that Boss…" Eight trailed off as the others look to him and he forced a neutral look, "I should probably stay down here and stand guard." Seven spoke up, "We're all going." Two nodded, "Yes, we would all be heading up there to see the view if Four wouldn't have gone alone, so why don't we turn this into a good situation from a bad one?" the others seemed to agree with this thought and were taken to the stairs.

Six noticed that, unlike the others, Eight was making no attempt to climb the stairs. The Artist decided to wait until the others were a few steps up before he asked, "Do you not like stairs?" Eight was confused, but suddenly agreed, "Stairs are a pain. I don't know why everyone's so willing to-." One suddenly called down to Eight and the Guard winced in response. Six smiled, "It'll be okay, Eight. There's not too many stairs."

With this, the two began to climb, though slowly, and soon Eight stopped again once they were up a few stairs. Six looked back at him again, "What's wrong?" He noticed Eight's hands visibly clench into tight fists. "Nothing. I'm fine." He began to continue climbing and after stairs, that seemed to go forever, they managed to make it to the first platform. That's when Eight was clearly acting disturbed. While the others were looking at the scenery or looking for Four, Eight refused to move from the stairs.

His breath was quickening, his hands were still clenched, and Six approached once again. "Eight…" he had a knowing tone and Eight suddenly admitted, "I don't like heights." Six hadn't noticed this before. "But in the lift… You were never…?" Eight spoke up, "The lift isn't this high. Besides, the lift has never fallen, like this tower will." Six cracked a smile, "Eight, the tower isn't going to fall!" Eight suddenly got this demented look and Six had a feeling like he was looking in a mirror after a night of nightmares.

"All that warring could have made the structure weak. The second we start walking around it will fall over, throwing us to the ground, killing us on impact!" Six couldn't believe Eight looked so frenzied and wondered if this fear of heights began when the Cathedral burnt down. "Here." He reached out his hands. "Just come a little closer. You'll see, it's okay." The Guard didn't want to, but suddenly realized that he looked insane and so reluctantly stepped forward a few steps. The tower didn't fall in, but he still was concerned.

"Let's go look at the view." Six suggested as he calmly took Eight's wrist and led him forward. Eight refused to look at the view that was already taking the other's attention. Buildings could be seen so far that they only stopped where fog cut it off in the distance. The Guard wanted to run, but Six's sharp fingers were locked on his wrist, so he tried to keep his calm and resist the dizziness in his head from being put through this.

"She's not here." Five explained to Two, quite concerned. Seven was holding Three close and trying to keep her from losing what little composer she had. Two hadn't given up, yet, and grew serious, "There should be another floor or two up the stairs. She may have gone higher…" By now he continued quietly, "Do not tell One, but I am going to try going up alone. I don't want to take everyone upstairs if she isn't there."

Five seemed hesitant, but wouldn't argue with Two when he looked that sure. Soon, Two was heading up the stairs, and Five was left trying to comfort the twin with him. When Two arrived on the second landing he soon saw that he wasn't alone and his suspicions were correct. Near the edge sat Four, staring out at the scenery, obviously not hearing the Stitchpunks below. Two approached quietly and nearly startled the little librarian out of her fabric. "It's alright. It's just me."

She looked scared and he sat beside her, "It's okay, I'm not mad, none of us are. We were just a bit worried." He looked out across the city. "It is quite a view. Especially for someone who has a lot on her mind." He suggested and the young Stitchpunk looked up at him sadly. He was trying to help; she knew this, so she decided to let him in. She made a hand gesture holding up three fingers. "This is about Three?" Two guessed, and Four nodded. Then she locked her hands together before pulling them apart.

"I think I see…" Two said with a sad smile. "You think Three and you are being separated. Is this because of Five and her having a relationship?" She nodded and he chuckled. "Now, Four, your sister would never forget about you. She may spend a little more time with him, yes, but you will always be her sister. She will come to you still." Four seemed a little skeptic and Two reached out to embrace her fatherly. "I know it's worrying that there's another person in her life, but you will always be there."

Suddenly Four began to smile a little and leaned into the embrace, pressing her head into his chest. He stroked her head caringly before freezing as he heard something. It sounded like a high-pitched yell almost and looked into the surrounding skies. Nothing there and he exhaled. That is, until he noticed a glint far off, followed by another screech. He knew immediately that it was a Beast and couldn't believe it had found them so fast.

"Four, quick, we need to get to the stairs!" He announced and she looked back to see the Winged Beast come into sight. It looked a bit different that the one that attacked the Sanctuary so long ago. Mostly because it was even bigger, and the fan propelling it forward was sharp and open. She only noticed this because it looked very dangerous, even as they were running away towards the stairs. They quickly leapt down them until catastrophe hit.

The Winged Beast dove into the stairwell, diving down the stairs for the two and managing the only clip Two who began to fall down the stairs. Four managed to help him up and they continued running as the Winged Beast began to literally crawl after them. On the second landing, Two called, "Winged Beast! Run!" The others looked back just in time to watch Two tackle Four to the ground and have a large, rough looking Winged beast dive to the floor and let out a bellowing shriek.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Was Eight's only response as he unsheathed his knife and started to edge closer. It was ready for him and made a clean shot with its harpoon tail. Eight managed to duck in time to have the harpoon fly into nothing. The Beast cleanly retracted it back, swinging it sideways enough to clip Nine when it did. Seven rushed forward and leapt onto the wing as it swung at her, beginning to climb and trying to cut into it. The Beast began to dive at her, trying to bite her, but was soon hit by one of Five's harpoons in one of its eyes.

It seemed to ignore the injury and fired straight towards Five. It made brief contact, not penetrating but managing to graze the back of his shoulder when he tried to duck, and cut a few of the stitches holding his fabric together. He let out a brief gasp but managed to suppress it enough to wade off the concerned Three. "Get to Four and Two! Run!" Three didn't want to and soon ran back towards Five. It was then that she was grabbed and dragged to safety. She could tell it was her sister, and knew afterwards that she wouldn't have been able to help.

Child began to climb up the Winged Beast effortlessly and it didn't touch him at all. It was as though it completely ignored him and it was beginning to frustrate him. He tried to pry metal parts off as the Beast dove its beak down toward Seven. She managed to roll out of the way and down the wing, causing the Beast to pierce its own wing. It retracted and shrieked before swatting at her. It missed, hitting Eight and causing him to skid backwards and drop his knife.

He managed to get to his feet quickly before Six called out, "Eight!" He used his mind to throw the knife back to the Guard. Unfortunately, Six's aim was a bit off and instead of throwing it to Eight, it slammed into the ground right beside him. The Guard jumped back and stared at where the knife nearly hit him. He then looked back to the Artist in alarm who put his hands up in defense, "Sorry!"

That's when Child managed to lock a Machine arm onto the back of the Winged Beast's head and yank it back. "The neck! Quickly! Now!" With that, both Seven and Eight rushed forward, but were both struck by the wing and thrown back. Surprisingly, One abruptly grabbed up Seven's spear and ran ahead. He immediately stabbed it into the front of the beast's neck. It let out a shrill cry and began to thrash as he called back, "Help me, you fools!" The injured Five and the determined Nine rushed upwards to grip on the spear and began to shove.

With a bizarre cracking noise, it went through, and the Beast's optics began to flicker. It made a few sporadic movements, even shooting a last harpoon that pierced Eight's lower leg, which looked quite painful to a watching Six. The Beast then fell to the ground and the rest of the Stitchpunks began to come forward cautiously. Child looked over the Winged Beast with a firm glare, "This is not normal."

"It found us with little indication." Two chimed in as he went to address Five and Eight. One looked over its head calmly, keeping Nine from going any closer, and spoke, "It is stronger than the past Winged Beast." Child nodded, "The Machine has been making them stronger. It must have made them self-reliant as well, knew once it was gone that it wanted us to receive trouble. Look at this." He gestured to the harpoon tail, "It already reloaded, even when dying. This could have been much worse if we weren't in such a closed in area."

The others were disturbed and Two addressed Five who insisted that he worked on Eight first. Two did, starting with pulling out the harpoon as Eight managed to pull through the pain, and then going at him with a needle. Eight didn't like needles, not at all, but right now he really didn't want to fight with One about his magnet. At least Six was back to holding his hand. He didn't know why, but it was a bit comforting, having someone else beside him to help deal with the pain.

After a few stitches the wound was tightly closed up. As for Five, he was soon approached by the twins, and smiled to Four, "We were worried about you." He said with a relieved smile and Four smiled a bit as well. She quickly said something to Three that made her get a small smile before looking to the one eyed male. She hugged him gently and he stiffly hugged back while nursing the pain in his back. She soon pulled away, mentioned something to Three, and started towards the Winged Beast's body.

Three looked to Five questioning and he waved her off, "You go ahead. I'm going to wait for Two." She beamed and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek before scurrying off after her twin. At that moment, Two approached, and decided to cue Five in. "Four was feeling a bit left out. She though Three wouldn't need her anymore since she had you." Five was sympathetic to the thought, "I could never replace her. I knew when Three and I became… Well, what we are, that she had a twin sister that she wants to spend time with."

"It's normal to feel a bit discouraged, though." Two pointed and then touched over Five's wound, "This doesn't look too bad. Would you like to use some magnet? Eight refused it." Five briefly thought before shaking his head. "No… No, I think it will be okay." Two nodded and quickly threaded the needle. Two managed to work quite quick and gentle enough that it only stung a little. Once it was finished, Two pulled back and helped Five to his feet, and the two headed over to the others.

Everyone was trying to recover when suddenly Two spoke, "So, now that everything is alright, why don't we head to the higher floor?" None of the others decided to answer.

* * *

**Mable: Seems like everything is going good… Considering they were just attacked by a giant flying monster. ^-^ The next chapter will be up tomorrow! I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	23. Chapter 23: The Return Home

**Mable: Here's the final in this arch! This is chapter Twenty-three, not much more to say. I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Twenty-Three: The Return Home_

After a few more days going between the Chateau and the Cathedral, the day finally came to head home. Two noticed that everyone seemed a little upset to leave. Even One who seemed to look back at the Cathedral longingly as they walked away. Two was now completely sure that the trip had been a success. Of course, it was a long trip home, especially when One and Two insisted to take two teacups and the plate from the chine shop.

One of the teacups, one with lacy design that Eight was carrying, was chipped on the way back. One was a bit disappointed, but Two was sure they could glue it once they arrived at the library. Other than that the trip was quiet and uneventful. It did rain again as they were passing through the forest, but lightly, and it merely helped them cool from days of walking in the sun.

When they arrived at the Library everyone was thrilled to be home. Eight immediately dropped his luggage and was one of the ones who headed straight to their room to rest. Child was another one of these. Nine made a comment towards it, "Tired?" That was the only word, but it was a bit teasing, and Child responded with a, "Of you? Yes." Two did speak up as well, "Remember, Child, tomorrow is a big day. Get some rest." The other Stitchpunk winced a bit before disappearing into the workshop.

Nine addressed Five in confusion, "What's happening tomorrow?" The healer smiled, "We're going to work on reattaching Child's fabric to his body." The thought made Nine a little confused and a bit curious on how the procedure could occur. He decided not to keep asking or else him be heard by Child and have the male get even more upset. Instead he decided to innocently follow Two who was now heading back into the throne room with Five.

One was lying on his throne looking quite exhausted. One hand was rested on his forehead while the other was clutching his staff. The Inventor smiled and spoke up, "We're heading down to fix the teacup." He made sure to grab said china that was still resting by the lift and the leader waved him away without a word. Nine didn't know where Seven was, but guessed she was downstairs with the twins. The lift lowered steadily and soon they were on the library floor.

Two and Five moved the cup to where the twins were working on their book, putting pictures of Paris from other books and newspaper clippings into it. Two and Five quickly used some paste on the chipped piece before holding it in place. "Here's the tricky part." He told Five, "Now we're confined to this spot for a bit." It was uncomfortable, with Two leaning over and Five kneeling, and after a few seconds the two began to actually laugh at the situation.

Maybe Nine didn't understand what was so funny, but he did smile at the scene, and then looked to the twins. The two of them were giggling a bit; especially Four who must have communicated something with Three that made her look a bit bashful. It must have been something teasing about Five and it made Nine's smile widen a bit more. That's when he heard a voice from behind him, "Hey."

He looked back to see Seven standing there. "Hey Seven." He greeted and the Warrior came to stand by him, "They're trying to fix that teacup?" Nine nodded and looked at said object. He was actually a bit surprised that it was so big to them, yet simply a small cup to humans, "They're fixing it with some of the twins' paste." That's when Seven asked, "Where's Six?"

* * *

It was beginning to bother him. At first, Six thought of nothing but resting as he entered his room. He was determined to get rest and get back to drawing something as amazing as he saw in Paris. Since Eight had said that he could paint just as well as them he had been very inspired and quite confident. He wanted to find more paints and wanted to draw more things than he could before the trip.

That's when he noticed the piece of cloth on his bed. It was from when he fell into the river and he had forgotten about it completely until this moment. Touching it, feeling the softness, he suddenly remembered everything that happened.

_Cold water engulfed Six's head more than once as he desperately struggled to keep his head above the thick water. His breathing was constantly smothered by the water. It wasn't as though the water could go in anywhere, but it blocked any air, and he was thrashing in the water. Soon, he was pushed against the side of the river against the cold mud. His fingers dug into the dirt and his feet moved to the side to lock in. He began to slowly crawl out of the water onto the muck._

_The current kept trying to drag him back in and he had to struggle to pull himself up onto the edge of the back. He crawled a little ways ahead along the dirt before he eventually fell against the soaked ground. He cared little about how filthy he was and instead laid their pitifully. He couldn't move, he was freezing, and he lay there until he fainted. Everything from there was a blur. He remembered hearing something approach, but his optics were caked with mud, and he couldn't see straight._

_That's when he felt himself get lifted. Or he thought he did. The next thing he knew he had something rubbed over him and then he was suddenly alone in a dark closet with a mere shred of cloth around his shoulders. That was when Eight found him._

It seemed unbelievable that there was someone else there, but Six knew it had been no delusion. There had definitely been someone else with him. He didn't know who and he didn't know how, though. He sat down on his bed and felt the cloth in his hands before standing and dashing out of the room. Instead of addressing Eight, however, he went into the Throne Room to speak to One. "One! There's another!"

The way that One leapt up suggested that he was probably asleep on the throne. He quickly regained compositor and looked to Six, "It is not polite to run up upon someone, Six." The covering of his sleeping was obvious, but Six didn't really mind, and showed the cloth. "I think there's another Stitchpunk. See I… When I went down the river, someone saved me. I think I- I don't know… I was in a building, and I was clean, and I don't know…"

"You saw another Stitchpunk?" One immediately was interested and Six meekly looked downwards. "I… I… Well I was… I think I did. With this cloth. Someone must have saved me from the river. The Leader blinked. "I thought that Eight saved you from the river." The Artist nodded, "Well… Yes, he did, but there was someone else. I'm positive!" One was skeptic until another voice spoke, "Yeah, I noticed some odd tracks by the river." It was Eight who must have heard the event, "I didn't see anyone, but I got this weird feeling in that house."

"Are you two positive?" One demanded and neither spoke. Six suddenly looked desperately unsure and Eight look only unsure. Soon the striped one's mismatched optics moved to the floor in a pitiful manner and the leader exhaled, "Very well. Since you two are so unsure, I will not put together a scouting group to find said Stitchpunk. Instead, we will look around for any clear sign that things have been moved in the Sanctuary or elsewise."

Six didn't answer, so Eight did. "That'll work, Boss." He came forward and grasped Six by the shoulder, "Come on, you need some rest." Six eased along, feeling discouraged and not wanting to admit that he could've been wrong. Soon he was taken back to his room by a confused Guard. "What brought that up again?" The smaller suddenly looked back in confusion, "Again? I… I mentioned the other Stitchpunk before?" Eight exhaled and sat down on Six's bed, ignoring its protests.

"When I found you, you were talking about someone saving you from the river. You were so out of it that I thought you were confused. That rag, though, I don't know where you got it." Six looked down at the brown rag and clenched it in his hands. He had a feeling that something was familiar and like he hadn't remembered all that he should've. "So… Do you think I imagined it?" Eight sort of shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe, maybe not, but I do know that something weird was going on."

He leaned back against the wall and Six sat down beside him. He dropped the rag on the bed beside him and stared at his knees. After a few minutes, Eight sat up, "Get some rest." Six stopped him. "Wait… Let's just… Stay with me. Please. For a few minutes."

* * *

"I think he's in his room." Nine explained as he watched Two and Five slowly separate themselves from the tea cup. Unfortunately, Five was having a little trouble removing his hand, and Two had to help him. He quickly led Five in the direction of the pool to get the paste that was beginning to dry off of. Seven and Nine decided to follow quietly behind them. Once at the edge of the pool, Two helped Five began to scrub the paste off.

"Hmm… It's beginning to firm." He thought briefly before sighing, "Now, if we had some soap we would be able to get this off much easier. Now I firmly wish that we took some of the things out of the Cathedral. Remember, we had that thick bar of soap?" Five nodded patiently with a smile; listening to the older speak. "I found that bar of soap in the strangest place. It was actually in a small box. You'd assume it was the box the soap was supposed to come in, but it was blank, so I doubt it."

He continued to ramble onwards and the others listened to it. It was like an endless tale when Two went into a speech about the past that the other Stitchpunks either didn't know or barely remembered. That was, until Two finally managed to get the hardened residue free and gave Five's hands a final rinse. "Better?" He asked with a smile and Five nodded, "Yeah. I didn't think I was going to get any on me."

"Gluing paste is seldom used without someone getting a bit messy." Two insisted as he stood once again. He stretched out his limbs and released a yawn. "I know it's still very early, but I may go upstairs and take a rest. All that walking has left me quite run down. How about you?" Five stood as well, "I think I might. Maybe I should check on Three and Four and see if they'd like to come too."

"If they don't, tell them I'll be down here for a bit." Seven spoke up and the zippered male looked perplexed, "You're staying down here alone?" She shrugged, "Just a little longer. It's a little nice to get some time alone." Nine didn't know if this was a suggestion for him to leave or just a comment out of the blue. Since she wasn't looking at him expectantly he guessed that it was the latter, but still decided to stand and follow after Five and Two. "I might stretch my legs a bit and, I don't know, maybe a nap."

Two decided to stay with Five as he invited the twins. After a few minutes of communicating, the twins decided to stay awake, so Five and Three shared a brief kiss. Two and Five began to head after the bucket lift while Nine followed behind the two. They rode up the lift in silence before entering the throne room. Two immediately noticed that One was asleep and shook his head with a chuckle, "Nine, Five, you two get some rest. I'll take care of One."

As soon as the younger two slipped from the throne room, Two addressed One, approaching the throne with a little smile. It was rare to see the Leader so relaxed and the Inventor didn't really wish to awaken him. He did, however, by gently shaking his arm. "One. One, come now, you're tired, let's move you into your room." One regained alertness and rubbed his optics tiredly, only showing a portion of how exhausted he was.

"Go where?" He asked with the same exhaustion and Two smiled, "With me. You need to move to bed." A hand was raised, "I am doing just fine right here. I am not asleep." As to punctuate the point, his optics began to slide closed again, and Two doubted he had been fully awake. He shook him again until it was much clearer, by an annoyed huff, "What is it now, Two?"

"You can't sleep on the throne." Two insisted, "It's not good for your back, or your optics, and certainly not the throne. Your bedroom isn't any more than a few steps away. Come along." One was purposely being difficult, "Stop acting as though you are my parent, Two. I will decide when I will get off this throne and it is certainly not now." Two then decided to attempt striking a chord, "I would not have to act like a parent if you weren't being so childish and absolutely difficult with me."

This got Two in a very odd position very quickly. Mostly because One forced Two's hand away and it was basically what Two was relying on for balance while leaning over the armrest of the throne. As such, he toppled awkwardly into One's lap, and the Leader stared down at him in confusion. Two did manage to pull up rather quickly and tried to suppress the heat in his cheeks. "One, you're tired."

"I didn't just fall over." One accused and Two exhaled, "Well… Yes, you are right, I am tired too. Everyone else is resting; why don't we slip into your room and do so as well? Nobody will be awake to come in on us." That was the first time that One looked like he was genuinely beginning to agree to it. Finally, the Leader stood, and the Inventor perked. "Excellent! Now, if I could only get you to agree to the addition."

One listened groggily as he headed towards his room with Two in tow, "See, after we work on Child, I was hoping that I could add more rooms to the Sanctuary. There is much more room to add, the walls of the Library are very thick, and I think perhaps we could even use some of what we saw in the Chateau back in Paris. At least, I would like to add windows. Of course, they won't be able to open, but I think they would look very nicely. We could even make you a larger bedroom."

"For you to be a permanent fixture in?" One asked in light accusation and Two looked away with an almost meek smile. "Well… If we did have more room it would give us more chances to be alone." To his surprise, maybe because he was tired, One abruptly agreed. "Yes, fine, do as you wish, just be careful." Two smiled wider, "One, you will not regret this. If there is anything I can do to repay you then I will certainly do so."

Only after saying that did he realize that they were both clearly in One's bedroom and realize how questionable it sounded. One, however, simply discarded his items and slipped into bed. There he just watched Two as he expected him to join in. Finally the Inventor did so, quietly sliding into bed beside his mate, and immediately he felt One's arms wrap around him. After only a short time, the two began to ease into their exhaustion, letting sleep overtake.

In Five and Nine's room, things were different, but going smoothly as well. Five began to unpack all of the utensils from the trip into a neat stack that he'd move into the Sanctuary in the morning and was now resting his bag on the floor beside his bed. With a soft yawn, he began to climb into bed, only half noticing Nine sitting up, looking concerned, "Nine?" Nine looked over with the same concerned look. "Is something wrong?"

Nine looked at the floor, "I'm a little worried about tomorrow… Have you done this surgery before?" Five shook his head. "No, but we have replaced fabric in smaller intervals. It should be easier than reattaching limbs, like One and I had to do with Two when we rebuilt his legs. Shouldn't take long, not much risk involving, and he should only be mildly sore afterwards. He probably won't feel the fabric, like it's attached and is a part of him, for a day or so."

It sounded so easy when Five said it, but Nine still didn't feel completely convinced. He still felt worried, which confused him, and he looked to Five again. "How long is 'shouldn't take long'?" He asked with a forced playful tone and Five calculated, "I'd say… We cut the fabric before the surgery… So about an hour and a half, if not counting prep or the time it takes to get Child sedated." Nine was more confused, "Sedated?"

"We're going to give him enough magnet that he goes to sleep and stays asleep during the surgery. It won't be especially painful, but Two think it will be easier on him and us if he he's asleep. Then he doesn't have to watch the procedure." The entire affair made Nine feel disturbed, but he was relieved that Five didn't sound overly concerned, as that could mean that Nine was simply overreacting.

Instead, he lay down in his bed, "Thanks, Five. If anyone can do it, it's you." Five smiled shyly, "I'll just be helping Two. Two knows what he's doing." With that, he trailed off, and Nine stayed awake with his concerns a bit more before falling asleep.

* * *

It was late at night when Child's red optics flickered open and sent a dim light across the room. The others were most likely asleep, which immediately pleased him, as he didn't want them up as he did what he had planned to do. He then stood and quietly crossed the workshop, him barely making the smallest sound as he moved down the hall and through the throne room. He entered the bucket lift and began to lower it down to the floor.

Soon he exited the library and into the nighttime outside. The night was cold against the metal of his exterior and the breeze was slightly pleasant. However, he also felt unnerved by how cold it was, how it felt to wrap his arms around himself and feel metal. He couldn't believe he would soon be feeling fabric again. Foreign, new fabric, clinging to his form, and he would finally look as he did before he had become what he was.

With a huff of strain, Child turned his head up again and began to walk forward, knowing where he was going clearly.

* * *

**Mable: Unfortunately, that's the end of the arch. Which means where Child is going won't be revealed until next Tuesday. I sort of timed that badly, didn't I? ^-^ Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed! The next chapter will be posted next Tuesday!**


	24. Chapter 24: The Fresh Stitches

**Mable: Well, seeing what day it was, I decided to update a day early. I would also like to add that this chapter reflects on my fic 'Child' and that it should probably be read if anything seems confusing. It's only a single chapter, though, so if needed to read it would be done in a second. Anyway, I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Twenty-Four: The Fresh Stitches_

The Scientist's Workshop was cold and unforgiving. Returning, again, alone, was depressing and only reminded Child of his mistakes. However, he had something that he left behind; he had something that he needed to retrieved. Child quickly pulled up a loose floorboard underneath the workbench and addressed what was in the crevice. The first thing he found was the note that he had left behind for his father. As expected, it was never found, and his father never knew the truth.

_"To my father, who I love dearly; I don't wish to leave you, but I must. I cannot let this atrocity continue between humans, murder, and the machine. __I didn't wish to hurt you, so I'm leaving quickly. I love you, I thank you for giving me life, and I will make you proud."_

"Make you proud." He repeated as he stared at the paper, "I didn't make you proud. All I did was hurt you and destroy everything you loved… But I cannot take the blame alone." He looked over to the body on the far side of the room. He wanted someone who he could talk to, who would not judge him, and he inhaled before looking back to the opening. He reached inside and plucked out what he had left behind. His old companion the small spider resembling Beast; Pet.

It was covered in dust and still shut down as Child had left it. He softly blew over the small, metal creature and watched as the dust disappeared in a cloud. Somewhere, he denoted that he could find a metaphor in this action, but decided to leave it be and instead began trying to restart his ally. It wasn't too hard with his recent Machine attachments and after a few seconds he could hear the whirring of a starting Machine.

He remembered to when he created Pet so long ago. Whittling down the Repair Beast's parts and rewiring it with a better state of consciousness, easily breaking the Machine's hold as he created something new. He missed Pet. He missed waking up with Pet curled beside him, he missed Pet comforting him when he felt turmoil or ill, and he missed having something from before. Honestly, though, he knew that Pet was the only thing to fill the void being eaten by guilt.

Child still didn't respect the humans and still believed that they were part of the cause of what happened, but he knew his role in their destruction, and for that he somewhat mourned them. He had been a pure creature in a world of the corrupt before the Machine literally drug him into his fate. Now he was just as corrupt as any human and his only way to cope was to attempt to move onwards. He could never make peace with his Father and the Humans, but he could make peace with himself, and this was the first step.

When the little red eye opened there was little response. The Spider beast stared hauntingly at Child, as though it was confused, and he spoke, "Pet?" That second the word slipped out, the Beast seemed to return to alertness. It was only then that he put together that it hadn't recognized him. Now it started to crawl about him making the oddest little chirping noises. It sounded happy, and Child couldn't argue with it.

He even took it into his arms and held it close, stroking its top and feeling the little, pointed legs lightly tap against his current metal exterior. "I missed you… God, I missed you. It's going to be okay now, we're going to be just fine." He continued to pet his companion who began to move about in obvious excitement. "Yes, I'm going to take you home, and you're going to have a nice, warm bed from now on. Won't that be nice?"

With that, he stood, "Come." He gestured up and to himself, causing Pet to loyally climb up his leg and rest on his back. With his old friend in tow, Child began to leave the First Room, and decided not to look back even once.

Eventually he returned to the Sanctuary and entered the Workshop that he had been sleeping in. He laid down on the Medical Cot that he was using as a bed at the present while keeping Pet right beside him. He watched as Pet made a little nest in the blankets and laid down beside him. Child rested a hand on his back and finally allowed himself to sleep.

* * *

With morning came the sound of a sharp yell. Child opened his optics and remembered to the night before as he patted the cot beside him. There was nothing there. He clearly remembered that Pet had been right beside him. Then he put the pieces together and realized something dreadful must have happened. He immediately leapt out of bed and began to dash for the door.

One was up against the wall after stumbling out of bed, staring at the Beast that was crawling over the covers of his bed. It didn't seem particularly interested in him or Two who also leapt up at the cry and was standing there, looking more curious than fearful, "How did this get in here?!" One demanded and Two leaned forward to study the small creature, "I'm not sure. Though I don't think he wants to hurt us." At this time, Seven appeared, and stared in at the scene, "What's going on?"

Somehow, One interpreted the question the wrong way. "I'll have you know; He just came in a second before you did!" Both Two and Seven stared at him before addressing the Beast. As instinct would denote, Seven went to strike, especially since One was spurring her on. The beast quickly scurried off of the bed and out of the room. Thankfully, Child was already in the hall, and the beast, Pet, climbed him and perched on his back, hiding with his owner.

Seven followed and stared at the scene, almost immediately putting together that the Beast had a connection with him. One then dashed out of the room and stared after the two. He was very confused and suspicious, "What is _that?_" He demanded, pointing ahead, and Child huffed, "One, we've met before." Really, he was trying to focus the annoyance on him, moving it away from Pet. That's when Eight suddenly appeared from his room and One glared at him, "Well, I am pleased to see that you decided to join us."

Eight didn't catch the sarcasm and Two emerged, "One, calm down. It is harmless." He attempted to approach, but One wouldn't let him by, and Child explained. "Two is right. This is Pet, he is completely harmless." One was furious, "Why was 'Pet' in my room?!" Child was hesitant before answering, "I don't know. He was just wandering about." That's about right when Nine and Five exited their room and saw what was going on. Nine outright walked up to look at the metal creature clinging to Child's back.

"It was not born of the Machine. I built him, long ago, and he is more than loyal enough to- Nine, don't touch him- to be trusted." Nine recoiled his hand, but was surprised to see the little Beast followed it out, almost as though it wanted to be pet, so Nine reached back out and stroked its top. It made a clicking noise of pleasure and Child decided not to protest. "He is harmless!" Nine spoke up with a smile as the creature began to move over Child's frame for a closer reaching point.

Two now moved around One and stepped forward, "He's well trained." He complimented as he reached out his hand to the beast, letting it see it before stroking it in a soft pattern. "Why, hello there Pet!" One was obviously disturbed, Eight seemed passive enough, and Seven seemed to already be growing to believe that there was no threat. "I will not have that thing running crazed through my bedroom!" The Leader called out in disturbance, but was mostly ignored by the others who were becoming more curious of the tame Beast.

Pet obviously liked the attention, though kept himself braced to Child's back, and soon Two decided to bring up another familiar subject. "Child, do you still want to go through the procedure today?" Child didn't even pause as he didn't want to show any hesitance, "Of course." He abruptly made a decision as well, "In fact, why do we not begin immediately?" He took Pet in his grasp and handed him to the closest Stitchpunk, Nine. "Watch him. He follows most commands." Then he disappeared into the Workshop, followed by Five.

"Well, then, I will be working on Child in the next while." Child heard this and felt cold. Only now did he really put together what he had agreed to and realized that, in his attempt to keep an apathetic font, had agreed to something nearly terrible. As he sat down on the cot he began to softly pant as he watched Five over on the other side of the workshop. Five was preparing the fabric and Child realized that it looked very much like his own.

"You said metal hooks and that latched with loops on the opposite side, right?" Two asked as he entered, carrying some bits of metal rods that could soon be morphed to keep his front closed. Child found that his voice refused to work and the Stitchpunks looked to him. "Child?" Child's eyes flickered oddly and he looked to Two, "Yes… Yes, they were hooks." Two sent Five a look before the one eyed male approached, "Are you sure you want to go along with this?"

"Yes… of course…" Five then continued, "If you ever start feeling scared about this, we'll make sure you don't feel anything. It will just be like you fall asleep and then once you're awake it will be over. I promise." Child knew he had to trust one of the few Stitchpunks who had massive surgery, involving the missing optic. If he could do it, Child supposed that he could too, as it wasn't fair that the healer hadn't gotten a choice.

"Put me down quick. Please." Child added with a hint of desperation and Five nodded, "I'll get the magnet." As he went to get it, Two spoke up, "Could you move over to the workbench, Child? All you have to do is sit down and we'll give you the sedation." Child moved over to the workbench and sat down on it before he saw the magnet passed to Two. "Here we are." The Inventor smiled, "Would you like to lie down?"

The darker Stitchpunk laid down on the workbench and Two lowered the magnet down upon his head. There was a few seconds of absolutely pleasure. He felt fuzzy and bizarre, uncontrollably laughing, and could only barely register that Two and Five were still there. The fuzziness grew stronger and suddenly everything went dark.

* * *

Nine liked playing with Pet. It helped clear his mind training the creature to do different tricks. It actually already knew many different ways to move. Making a circular motion vertically would cause it to roll itself over and the same motion horizontally made it spin in a circle. It also moved in any direction that was pointed or gestured to. However, Nine was concerned, and sat in the throne room eagerly. One was on the throne glaring at the beast while also waiting.

Eventually, Two and Five emerged, and Nine immediately stood to meet them. "How is he?" He asked eagerly and Two smiled, "It went well. He's still under." Nine paused and exhaled, "So I should let him rest." Five rested a large, warm hand on Nine's shoulder in a comforting manner and Nine looked to him. "When he wakes up, Nine, he might… He might be a little confused at first. For now, we'll watch him. I'd tell you not to worry, but I know you will anyway." He smiled a bit and Nine did so as well.

"You're right… I'm going to go down to check on the twins for a bet." He entered the bucket lift, "Come on, Pet!" Pet quickly scampered across the floor and joined Nine in the lift. Once downstairs, he went to find the twins. They were looking through the back of the Library while Six was softly scribbling on a piece of paper. Nine approached, "Six, did you see Pet?" he knew Eight was nearby and tried to make sure that the guard didn't get overprotective.

Pet scuttled over Six's picture and he gasped in surprise to see it. He wasn't upset, though, and instead looked at it in a curious, yet cautious fashion. The twins heard the commotion, peeked out, and then promptly headed over to look at Pet. Soon, Nine sat down, and watched the two twins pet and love on the little Spider Beast. It was adorable and Nine watched with a smile. That was when he caught a glimpse of the white Stitchpunk beside him, "Hey Seven."

He looked ahead at the scene. "They really like Pet, don't they? I can see why. He's very smart. I was able to get him to do anything without a struggle." He realized that Seven was neither sitting down, nor answering, and looked back at her. It took a few seconds to realize that it was clearly not Seven. It slowly sunk in as he recognized the facial features and he got this look of utter shock.

"I'd take this as a bad reaction, but I don't consider any of your reactions on par with normal responses." Child retorted, words sounding a bit slurred by exhaustion, and Nine guessed that he only just awoke from the sedation. Nine could only watch as Child sat down beside him and watched the twins play about. None of the others seemed to notice the other male had wandered up to the group. "I didn't expect you to look like this." Nine suddenly blurted out, uncontrollably.

Child raised a stitched brow, as he now could, and seemed nonchalant, "You mean pale? What did you think I would look like?" Nine decided to be honest, "I had no idea." While Child could express emotions better, he couldn't hide them as well anymore. This meant that Nine saw the small smile that cracked like a facial tick before disappearing again. "It does feel better." Child admitted, before clutching his head, "If it didn't feel like I was engulfed in flames."

Nine chuckled a little, "It should go away soon." Then reached forward to touch his shoulder; as expected, it wasn't like Seven's. It must have been bleached burlap; Two once mentioned the chemical that could turn anything white. Nine smiled a bit at the thought of him finally having something in common with this bizarre Stitchpunk and spoke up, "Can you feel through it yet?"

Child shook his head, "It's painful and numb at the same time." He leaned forward and rubbed his head so the zippered one suggested, "Maybe you should get some sleep." Child shook his head, "I need to get the sedation to wear off. The only way to do that is stay up." He shakily began to stand, "I'm going to walk around a bit." The male began to limp away and Nine stood as well. "I'll come with you."

Surprisingly, Six must have noticed them and came along with them, and didn't seem too surprised about what Child looked like. He did softly add in, "You got your fabric back!" As though he knew what Child looked like before, which neither would doubt with the Artist's sight. Most of Child's answers were turned into 'yes and no' or just soft noises of confirmation. Eventually they even bumped into Seven who decided to playfully add in, "Welcome to the group, Child."

This actually got a small smile out of him, "Perhaps I will stop getting odd stares when I say the wrong thing." That's when Nine suddenly noticed something, "Child, your eyes." They weren't glowing red as they had been. Nine only just realized that they were normal like everyone else's and was just as curious as the others. "Did Two and Five fix that too?" Seven asked with the same curiosity and Child absentmindedly touched the side of his optic.

"Oh, the redness you mean. No, I merely turned them off." Everyone looked odd and Child huffed, "I don't know. They come on and off." He answered in obvious agitation that was no very visible on his face. This seemed good enough for the others. That's when Nine smiled, "Well, you'll be back to normal in no time. Maybe you'll even be able to have that black stuff come out of your mouth again." Child looked horrified as the two other Stitchpunks looked confused again.

Child cleared his throat, "I think I may go back into the Sanctuary now." Then discreetly leaned closer and whispered harshly, "_And stop bringing that up._" Honestly, Nine wasn't smiling oddly because he was embarrassed, he was smiling odd because he had purposely tried to rile Child. Child reacted as predicted and as normal, so Nine denoted that he was alright. "I've got to go draw." Six said and made a quick wave of goodbye to everyone before scurrying off.

Seven smiled after him, "Maybe I should go tell Two and Five that their cup is dry." Nine protested, "I'll do it. I'm going upstairs anyway." He let out a smile that she returned sweetly, "Thank you, Nine." She began to wander back towards the twins and after Six. He watched as she walked, swaying silkily, moving fluidly. Nine watched her leave before he was suddenly grabbed from the shoulder and practically drug into the lift.

He could only smile back at Child in a lopsided way and Child huffed before addressing the crank, only pausing to call for Pet. Pet climbed onto the lift and scuttled up Child's back. That's when Nine noticed something and stopped the creature, "Why are there hooks on your back?" he actually sounded concerned and Child exhaled, "The other arms. Still at my disposal." This made the zippered male content and he nodded, "I thought you'd have Two remove them."

"Nine, this is not the time." Child suddenly retorted and Nine went quiet. A few seconds passed. "What is going on between you and Seven?" Child abruptly asked with a quizzical look and Nine promptly bellowed with laughter, "And this is time for _that_?" Again, he noticed Child smile a little, and for the first time in a while, Child felt comfortable. Actually felt like he was completely accepted.

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**Mable: Unfortunately for those who want to see what's next, this was a single chapter upload. Not to worry, daily chapter uploads will begin again on Thursday. I'm sorry for the continued wait. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	25. Chapter 25: The Broken Projector

**Mable: We're back with chapter twenty-five! I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Twenty-Five: The Broken Projector_

It was evening time and also time when Two began to scout the area of the library where he was planning to put the addition. After Child's surgery earlier, he should've been tired, but instead was ready to go with Five who was following through the few bits of hollow walls. "If we put a hall here then we can add two bedrooms here, a bedroom for Child and a bedroom for One. That was his clause; he'd like a new bedroom. Then we could continue through here…"

They soon crossed a low beam that looked to not be placed right and could clearly see a nearby opening. "Then we could try to add windows and… Oh my." Through the opening was an actual open room that was in the back of the Sanctuary. It looked like a simple room and below were a few shelves and a table. It was what was on the table that shocked Two. He began to climb down, using the shelves, and Five was concerned.

"Two, maybe we should go back." He tried, but Two was insistent, so the Healer began to follow him down. Soon they were on the table and Five noticed that his mentor was eyeing the most bizarre machine that he had ever seen. "What is that?" He asked quietly and Two smiled, "If I am right, this is a projector." He pointed out and gestured to a screen on the other side of the room. "Yes, see, a projector plays film reels and put moving pictures onto a blank surface like that screen over there."

Hearing 'moving pictures' piqued Five's interest to greater heights, "Can we turn it on?" Two chuckled a little, "Of course… Hmm… We'll have to fix it up a bit, but I think we can find what little we need very easily…" He then thought, "All we need are a few volunteers."

* * *

"What's a moving picture?" Six asked quietly as Two and Five explained what they saw. Five allowed Two to do most of the talking and merely nodded his head gently as the other explained. "It is a projection that resembles movement. We watch people moving upon the blank wall which are really just pictures being shown quickly by the projector." He then continued on, "The only problem is that, unfortunately, the projector is missing a few pieces that we would need."

One raised his eyebrows in interest, "What pieces?" Two counted them off, "We are missing a lens, some projector oil, and, of course, a reel of film." Then he chimed up, "However! I have the perfect solution to this. I know exactly where we can find the parts!" The others looked interested and Seven spoke up, "I can get them. Where are they?" Two gestured out of the Sanctuary, "About a mile to the west there is a large building that is an old cinema. There should be more than enough parts there."

"You are planning on sending them to a random building in the Wastes?" One asked, though sounded half-hearted, as though he knew there was nothing he could so to stop this. Two smiled, "I was hoping that I someone would like to come with Five and I." Seven nodded, "I will come. I think I've seen the cinema before, I… I went inside and it hard many chairs and a large, white screen. I remember I thought humans gathered there for some reason. The twins have told me of moving pictures before."

Two perked, "That sounds like the Cinema. Only a little ways into the Emptiness, One, we will be careful." Nine chimed in, "Maybe I could come too?" Five smiled in invitation, "The more the merrier!" Two turned to One for acceptance and the Leader huffed, "Fine, but be back by nightfall." With that, the four began to head to the lift, and as they boarded they were joined by yet another Stitchpunk. "Child?" Nine asked in confusion and Five looked shocked, "Child, wait, the surgery."

"I'm still numb." Child insisted as he nearly collapsed against the bucket lift edge. Two nodded, "Very well. Just don't strain yourself." He went to man the lift, but Five did instead with a sure smile. As they descended, Two looked to Child. A single glance revealed much to the pale Stitchpunk's character. Leaning stiffly on the edge, he was tired, looking tired, hands clenched, he was frustrated, and staring right at Nine and Seven who were talking softly.

It only then occurred to Two that Child seemed to want to intervene every time that Nine and Seven were together. That looked to be the only reason he would force himself to come as he didn't seem too concerned that they could handle themselves. Two decided not to speak to Child yet. Perhaps later, but for now he had a feeling that the male would resist any confrontation of this kind, and as such decided to simply enjoy their time.

Soon they exited the library and began to walk toward said cinema. It was in the part of the Emptiness with more less destroyed buildings, a lot of buildings, and the cinema itself was distinct. The sign that was once perched in display had collapsed before the entrance and the Stitchpunks walked over the backside of it, the wood feeling dry and uncomfortable, weatherworn as well. The entranceway into the Cinema looked dusty and old, with a floor of red carpet and peeling posters on the wall.

Five looked up at one in curiosity, "Why are all these pictures up, Two?" He asked his mentor who approached knowingly, "To show what film would be playing. This, I hope, means that they actually had a few films with them at the time. Maybe we could bring a few home for us." This made the Stitchpunks feel more hopeful, save Child who slowly had to use Nine as a crutch.

Two and Five went alone into the back storage rooms alone. In this time, Seven and Nine, nearly dragging Child, moved into one of the theaters. "See?" Seven pointed out at the vast room of seats. The white screen was just as she had suggested as well. Nine looked around in awe at the scene. Two and Five, though, were working diligently. They managed to find a projector and took the lens from it. As Two went to look for the oil, Five noticed something. A box of records the looked to be for a phonograph, each with a label.

He pulled them out curiously, pushed them back in, and then moved to the next one. Soon, Two returned, struggling to carry a large bottle of yellowish liquid. He soon dropped it beside Five, "I nearly had to drag this!" He laughed a bit and turned to Five's workings, blinking at the records, "Did you find some music records?" Five nodded, "I think so. Look." He showed one to Two who read the inscription on it. Then, suddenly, he looked confused. "Oh… Oh, no, this can't be right."

Five couldn't read it at all. Unlike the normal writings, these words were written differently, and Two spoke, "They… They're listing the audio to films on these…." It suddenly occurred to him and he closed his optics with a wince, "The audio! The sound!" The one eyed one was confused, "What's wrong?" Two sighed and pushed the record against the box. "I was so wrapped up that I didn't realize that the projector cannot play sound. They must have used these records in some sort of phonograph."

With his mentor discouraged, Five grasped for anything, "Wait, there's got to be something we can… Wait, maybe, maybe there's a phonograph in the Library. We did find a projector." Hearing this, Two began to perk. "You may be right. If so, we should still bring the film reels and the records… I assume we could attempt to roll them back…." He looked to Five, "Could you go find the others?" Five nodded quickly and actually ran to find the other three.

There were still wandering through the aisles of seats when Five found them, "We have a problem. Two needs everyone's help." Was all Five explained, so Seven assumed the worst and rushed back while preparing herself for battle. Instead, she soon found out the truth, that nothing was really wrong at all. Two was in a rush to get back to the Library to search for the Phonograph and soon decided to only bring back a single film reel and an audio record that matched it.

The reel was in a metal casing, so it was safe to roll, and Two gave Five the job to move it. Nine and Seven were tasked to move the record and make sure it didn't get away from them. Two, again, carried the oil, insisting that he took up the heavy job. Child, who was starting to show obvious signs of exhaustion such as limping, was given the easier task to carry the lens back. The walk was a little slow and took longer than expected, but they made it home much earlier than One had told them to.

Once inside, they moved through the passage Two had found, lowering the items down on the shelves, and moved to the projector. "We're almost there." Two said with a smile. "Now, I'm going to oil the projector and put the lens on. Could you three check those boxes?" When Child went to follow, Two stopped him, "Child, you're tired, why don't you help me instead?" Child decided to do so and agreed readily.

Apparently Child knew of mechanics enough that he was quite a nice help and even knew how to thread the film onto the Projector. More positive things came when they found a projector in the back of the room. It was close enough that Two saw no need to move it, and looked in fair condition. They soon noticed something was strange, though. "There's no handle." Nine pointed out and Two moved to look. Sure enough, the crank handle was gone and he felt in the hole. He could feel the end of the handle inside and was relieved that there wasn't anything internally broken.

"We'll have to replace it." Seven spoke up, "The twins were able to get it running by, literally, running on the record." Two smiled at the comment, "They are resourceful. Unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to see the movie from there." The Warrior realized this and nodded thoughtfully. Soon, Nine spoke, "We could go out and find something to use. Why don't you just set up the movie and watch Child?"

The Inventor nodded at the suggestion and looked back to see Child lying on the table behind them. Arm draped over face and looking already unconscious. "That may be best. Be careful." Nine agreed, "We will. Come on, guys." He started to head out, followed by Seven, until Five chimed up, "Wait, I'm coming too?...No, I'm fine, wait up."

* * *

Eight couldn't say that he didn't notice that Six was still seemingly acting weird. Whenever the male got a chance, he'd peer outside the entranceway or the vent window, looking out for something. Even when the Guard tried to set up exercises for Six, the Artist had trouble paying attention. Especially when Six's behavior caused a lifted book to drop into the pool and send water onto Eight, "Ah great." He murmured and looked to the striped one, "Alright, what's going on?"

"What?" Six asked and blinked before continuing, "I don't know what..." Eight looked unconvinced and Six slowly looked to the floor beneath him. "It's nothing." Eight approached, Six inched away, and soon the Guard was practically chasing the Artist around the area. "Stop walking away, Six, I want to know what's going on." Finally, Six abruptly stopped, and looked back, "I'm sure there was someone else." Eight perked at the admission, "You are?" Six nodded, "I… I had a dream about it."

The Guard was taken aback, knowing of Six's dreams and how they were usually right. "What was it about?" Six's hands clenched on each other, "Well… I saw another Stitchpunk, it was glowing, and it was right beside me. There were lights coming from its eyes like beacons, bright green, but ever tie I walked closer it would move farther away. I think… That must mean that it's trying to run from us. Maybe it's scared." He used his mind to drag a book free of a nearby pile to sit down on.

"Maybe I'm wrong… I just… It just feels so real, Eight. I'm scared…" Eight didn't like the discouraged look and exhaled calmly, "We'll figure something out… I'll talk to One." Six looked up innocently, "You will?" He asked in a look of hope and Eight nodded, "Yeah, I will. Don't expect me to come out of it alive." Six released a soft chuckle under his breath and Eight was shocked at how much that made him feel nice. It actually made him feel willing to go confront One without caring if his leader got angry or anything.

As such, he stretched a bit, "I'll wait a few more minutes. Let him calm down since Two and Five just got back. Come on, you've not been giving any real effort." At this, Six leapt to his feet, "I'm ready now!" With that, Eight began to teach again, but now his was the mind that was distracted by other thoughts.

* * *

When the twins appeared to look over the Projector, Two showed them around a bit, and was then interrupted by One appearing. "Two, can we speak?" Of course, he was looking at the room with a certain scouring, but Two hurried to meet him as they began to wander back towards the Sanctuary. It was a quiet walk and Two could tell that One was clearly not upset. In fact, he just looked a bit lonely, which would make sense as the Sanctuary was empty.

"We are working on the projector. We just need a handle for the phonograph in the other room. Then, we will get to watch our film." One nodded in understanding and asked, "Which one?" Two smiled, "Apparently, it was very popular. It is about a young girl who goes to a fantasy world. I thought it would inspire the others a bit more." One nodded yet again, "It sounds pleasant. Both for the twins and us, very well, and your health?"

"One, my health is fine." Two chuckled, "But your concern is a relief. I thought you were angry at me." One actually smiled a bit, "I still am. I think I may let you go without trouble." With that he reached over and actually slipped his arm around Two's waist. "While they are busy, perhaps we should speak of other matters. Do you still have that chess set?" Suddenly, Two began to bellow in laughter, "I had to hide that blasted thing! Every time we play it, you get angry!"

"I do not." One denied, looking away. Two exhaled patiently, "Alright, fine. Let me set it up."

* * *

It was sunset when Nine, Seven, and Five arrived at the Phonograph. Everyone was tired and decided to sit down for a bit. The Tentacle Beast's body still remained, but Five noticed that it looked destroyed, like it was scratched up and almost gutted. He winced, "I don't think we should stay that long…" Nine didn't seem too concerned, though, and Seven eyed the Handle. "Nine, I don't think we can get this off." Nine walked over to look and agreed; the Phonograph's handle didn't look like it would budge.

"We'll just attach something else to it." Five insisted, "Paste something that looks like a handle and can be used as one. Maybe we could find some wood in that shed over there." The Healer hurried over, wanting to leave the area as soon as possible, and the other two shook their heads with smiles. Seven moved up onto the handle to sit and let her spear fall to the ground where it stabbed into the dirt to stand upwards.

Nine felt a strange smile emerge as he noticed her going for her helmet. Sometimes she took off her helmet and he enjoyed seeing her without it. Soon, it was off, though Seven still held it in her grasp. Nine climbed up onto the edge of the Phonograph and smiled to her, "So… What do you think the film is going to be about?" Seven shrugged a bit, "I'm not sure. Come to think of it, Two didn't really say what film he got from the cinema. I'm sure he'd get something good, though."

"Yeah." Nine agreed before fluidly asking, "Maybe we could sit together and watch in case we want to talk at some points." Seven seemed to like this idea and agreed, "That's sounds good, Nine. Though Child might get upset." Nine waved to off, "He won't mind. He'll probably sleep through the film anyway since he's so tired." She seemed to believe this as well. "It was a rough day. I can't believe he has his fabric back… He looks so different."

The zippered male believed this as well. However, he couldn't say that he didn't like the new look of Child. He looked so different, just like a normal Stitchpunk, but still looked quite nice. It suddenly caused Nine to be able to see Child in a new light. "Maybe, if he's awake, he can sit with us." He suggested and she immediately nodded, "That might make him feel less left out." That's when the sound of footsteps could be heard.

"Look what I found!" Five proudly presented a short, metal rod. It was a little bent, but looked like it would fit in the hole, and he obviously planned to use it to replace the handle. "What do you think?" Seven released a soft giggle and placed her helmet back on. "It looks great, Five!" She jumped down and Nine soon followed her. With the makeshift handle in their grasp, they started back to the Sanctuary.

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**Mable: Okay, I do know it was a little rushed, but I was racing to the deadline. I hope everyone enjoyed and there will be another chapter up tomorrow!**


	26. Chapter 26: The Hard Revelations

**Mable: Here's chapter twenty-six!... I know I've said this before, but the numbers ARE getting pretty high. Which is good, I like high numbers, unless it involves a high Eight. ^-^ I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Twenty-Six: The Hard Revelations_

"Checkmate."

"No! That is not checkmate! I can still make a move!" Two exhaled calmly as he watched One stare at the board with fury. It was as though they were playing for the throne every time they played. Two could only chuckle a little at the thought. "One, it is just a game." The leader huffed in annoyance and looked down at the board. "Let us start over, again. This game will be the final game, the only one that counts, and this one will mean more than simply respect."

That sounded like an offer and Two perked, "Care to make a wager?" With that, One's optics went sharper, "What type of wager?" Two playfully smiled, "An open ended wager. If I win, I get one thing from you, anything I want. If you win then you can get everything from me that you would like." The leader seemed to accept this and a sultry look begin to overtake. "Yes… That seems… to be fair." Only then did Two realize what One was thinking and felt warm in the face.

The game was reset and Two made the first move. The little pieces were whittled out of wood and didn't look too perfect, but both saw them work well enough. With that, One made a move, then Two, going back and forth for a little while. That was, until One began to get the advantage. Two watched as One mercilessly began to take every one of his pieces. Every single piece being taken was like a taunting show toward the Inventor.

He seemed to only want the king to remain, toying with Two after so much frustration of losing two games already. Two would have probably won again if not for the wager being such a distraction. That was, until now, him sitting like a pawn trying to escape with only a king, a knight, and both of his rooks left. That's when the Inventor realized that there was no possible chance of him turning the game in his favor anymore.

Instead, he shifted his king to the side, and watched One's move. Both sat still at the workbench table that the Inventor worked with his apprentice, Two pulling up the bench and One sitting on the stool. The leader was rapping his fingers on the wooden surface as he usually did when irritated, concentrating, or eager. It was a common practice and Two decided to analyze it. It was obvious that One was no longer irritated, so he was probably concentrating, but the Inventor wasn't sure that it was the only thing.

He then realized that he himself was feeling eager for the game to be over. One would win, most likely, and Two already knew what he would win. That's when he suddenly made a decision at that second and slowly stood. "I forfeit." Before One could register a thing, Two threw himself upon him, startling the former and sending them both spiraling to the ground as the stool finally decided to tip over.

No words, no scolding, nothing but the two suddenly prying at each other. Two was clawing at One as though clawing onto his only lifeline and their mouths met in frenzy. Two had subconsciously counted the days since the flood; unsure why, but knowing that he was wanting more with his mate. Maybe because while they were finally allowing themselves to be reckless and for a little while it actually felt like One and Two weren't strangers, weren't pretending to hide what had been going on for years.

"I want to tell the others." Two gasped out as their lips briefly separated. One was now on top of Two, on top of the floor, and didn't seem to grasp what he had said. "Later. Not now." Two definitely knew that One hadn't understood him and was too caught up in their actions to notice. This meant he also didn't notice Child until the male had released the strangest gasp either had ever heard. It made crackling noises, perhaps from his strain voice box, and the leader looked up to see the male.

The silence was deafening until Child swiftly backed out and shut the curtain behind him. One and Two didn't start up again. One pulled away and Two sat up, crossing his legs and resting his back against the workbench. Looking over he could see that One clearly looked awkward and exhaled, "This is why we should tell them. Someone is bound to figure us out eventually. What is the harm?"

"You do not understand these things, Two." One explained, "They would be furious if they realized that you and I were taking part in such activities." This didn't detour Two in the slightest. "One…" He began, "Five knows." The leader looked to him abruptly, "_What?_" the Inventor looked at the floor. "The other day we were speaking on love and I admitted that I was in love with someone… When we were in Paris, he asked who it was, and I said you. He pieced together that we spent much time together after hours and…"

"How could you?" One demanded with a sharp glare, "I ask one thing of you, to tell no one, and you refuse to do even that!" With that, Two suddenly turned on his mate, and he didn't look pleased, "One, I am tired of living like this! I cannot fathom why you are so fearful of telling the others about us; do I embarrass you?! Do you think I'm not worth being mate to the leader of us?!"

"Of course not." One retorted and Two pressed further, "I need to know why, One. It is not fair that we keep living like this without a reason." There was no answer for a few minutes and Two abruptly dropped his head into his hands. Nothing ever got fixed when he tried to convince One that their relationship wasn't supposed to be secret. One, though, actually felt a reaction this time. Usually he would just give Two his space, sure that he was right, and let the Inventor sort out his troubles alone.

He couldn't repress the feeling that he was being too cold to Two. The other was this distraught and One was the reason why. That's when Two suddenly spoke up, "Is it the Incident, One? I told them the truth, I told them about why I left and that you lied, they understand. We don't… I don't want to keep doing this… I love you." As though Two was ruthlessly trying to torture One, who then abruptly stood after the final comment. He stood there without moving for a second and Two was confused, "One?"

"You want them to know? Fine, I will tell them, but I will not take responsibility. When they go to someone to exact their fury it will not be me." He suddenly sped out of the room. Two was left to stare after him before suddenly rising to his feet as well. Pulse racing, he followed after his mate.

* * *

"Look whose back." Eight remarked as Nine, Seven, and Five made their way into the back room with the Projector inside it. Since Six and the twins were there, they guessed they had learned about the film and moved into the room to wait for it. Five made sure to grab some of the twins' paste on the way through and approached the phonograph with it and the handle. "Think you two can help me?" He asked with an inviting smile.

Both Three and Four were glad to help. Five and Three held the handle as Four administered a gracious amount of the paste to the tip. Five then pushed it inside the hole and held it there with Three. They let their hands touch and smiled when they did. Meanwhile, Four decided this was one of those times to give them space, and went to get retrieve the record. Seven decided to follow behind her and Seven watched her go before looking towards the other.

Eight was leaning against the Projector, looking bored, Six was drawing nearby, and Child was pacing about. Nine was glad to see him awake and hurried over, "Child!" The other male looked over with this weird look. He looked somewhat zoned out and the zippered male smiled to him, "I thought you'd still be asleep!" Child looked downwards and put his hand to his forehead, "Don't worry yourself." Then added in a whisper, "I will _never _sleep again."

The burlap one gestured back at the Phonograph, "We got the crank. Now we'll be able to actually see the film. Where's Two?" Child made a choking noise, "He's a bit… Overcome at the moment." Whatever that meant, it promptly caused Child to lightly smirk, and Nine raised a stitched brow. It seemed right after that, One appeared, looking a bit annoyed as he made his way beside the projector. Once there, after giving Child a weird look which wasn't returned, the Leader announced, "May I have the attention of everyone in the room?"

Nine turned to One in confusion and the leader continued, "Two and I have exchanged vows. We have been mating." Child suddenly spoke up, rubbing forehead, "Trust me, we already know." Silence overtook the room, and Child's comment soon turned out to mean more than expected. Especially when Eight bluntly said, "Yeah, I know, I walked in on you enough times." Five nodded from his position, Seven seemed unfazed, Six looked up and smiled a little, and the only one who actually looked surprised was Nine.

"Let me guess; You were naïve enough to believe those nights together were innocent?" Child taunted with the returning smirk and Nine shot a light glare, "I had no idea because they never even- I didn't think- And how did _you _know?" Child retorted, "I had a feeling." One decided to correct him, "He walked in on Two and I-… Talking." Child looked away, but was clearly amused, and One decided to stop addressing him entirely. Two soon appeared, looking a bit nervous, and Nine asked him.

"Two… Are you and One really mates?" Nine knew little about mating, but had heard it was what two Stitchpunks did when they were in love. Two smiled a bit cautiously, "Yes. We have been for a while now. Before your birth, actually." While still a little confused, the zippered male was accepting this rather quickly, and smiled, "Just wondering. Congratulations." Two looked relieved and chuckled from such, "Thank you, Nine. That is nice to hear."

He even looked over to One, Nine's optics followed, and noticed One was watching the scene and looking a bit thankful as well. Honestly, he really had been worried about the others' reactions, even if he tried not to show it. Two soon slipped over to One's side, putting a hand on the taller Stitchpunk's shoulder, "Thank you." One exhaled calmly, "It was to come eventually. Child wouldn't keep quiet."

The Inventor chuckled, "Perhaps now, once we can get your new room finished, we can begin to share a bed?" This seemed to make One smile a bit, "I do not see that being unreasonable." He reached up and took Two's hand in his own, massaging it, allowing himself to show affection to his mate without worrying that the others were going to react at all. Of course, just because they were fine with it didn't mean that the others were above staring at the gesture. A few of them did and those caught were stared down by One.

Soon, Two pulled back with a playful look, "I have to start up the film. When I come back, perhaps we can get a few minutes alone together." He turned away and began to address the Projector. When One went to search out a place to sit, Eight decided to follow behind, still looking a bit bored. Five checked the handle and was pleased to see that it held enough. "Okay. Now let's put the record on the player for when we need it…" Four rolled up the item in question and Five thanked her.

The Healer and the Librarians managed to get the record on the Phonograph and waited until any type of signal from Two who was working diligently. Nine looked to see that Seven had rolled over the film canister and was now sitting on it. He wanted to join her, but remembered Child, and looked to him. "Come sit with us. It'll be better on the floor; we'll be closer to the screen." Child seemed hesitant, but relatively uninterested, and shrugged before following along with the zippered one's idea.

Unfortunately for Nine, by time he got down to Seven's side, the twins sat on the metal canister and Five sat on the floor in front of Three. This left Nine to actually decide to sit to the side, under the table. Child decided to wander about and even Seven stood again. Mostly because everyone was still trying to get everything arranged for the movie. Soon, Five got back up to address the Phonograph and Two addressed the Projector. The few candles were put out and suddenly the film was turned on.

It began with merely words of introduction across the screen and then turned into a scene. Nine was awe to see living humans. They spoke like Stitchpunks and acted relatively normal, not dangerous. Everything was normal and upbeat as the girl obviously showed that she wanted something else out of life. Nine could definitely understand what the girl was feeling. That was, until she began to sing. The second the words came out of her mouth Nine could recognize the song.

He was obviously not the only one who noticed. Seven clearly gasped as she recognized the song. Then, suddenly, there were rapid footsteps. The audio came to an abrupt halt and Nine could hear One call, "Five!" More footsteps and the Projector abruptly shut off. He could hear Two swear with a, "Blast it all! I meant to just freeze the movie!" The pitch dark room was unnerving as Nine stood to toddle around.

That's when he felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped. It was just the fingertips, so he couldn't recognize the hand, but something was so odd about the gesture that he was what ended up frozen. The fingertips grazed over his shoulder, softly moving over his burlap, and then began to trail down his back. They stopped mid-way down his back before abruptly retracting.

A candle was soon lit and through the dim light Nine looked back. To his horror, nobody was back behind him. He assumed that one of the pairs of shuffling feet nearby had been the culprit who left after the scene. The closest Stitchpunks were Seven and Four, the former looking at the table while the latter looked after Three who was running off. Only then did Nine put together that Five must have shut off the Phonograph before running off.

The Stitchpunk who touched him would have to be ignored as he tried to rush after his friend.

* * *

That song opened a flood of memories that Five didn't want to remember. For a second he felt a panic that he couldn't control. It was as though he was fighting for his life, running over to the Phonograph, managing to pop the needle off so the music stopped playing, and then fled. Thankfully, the twins found another small crevice that lead into the Library that was easier to head through.

Once in the Library, he stumbled around a bit before stopping and dropping onto a book, clutching his head pitifully. His pulse throbbed heavily and his breath was a mess of panting. His hands were shaking and he felt like he was panicking. It wouldn't stop, though, as the memories continued to double over. It was as though the Machine was about to break into the Library and snatch him up. All of those terrible moments before his soul was taken were all returning.

He could hear Three run up and knew it was definitely her from her soft footfalls. She stopped beside him and stared at his back before walking up towards him. She rested her hands upon his shoulders before letting them slide down as she embraced him from behind. She knew why he was upset and couldn't say that the song hadn't disturbed her as well. The healer slowly turned around and hugged her close to him.

No words were exchanged as he desperately held onto her for dear life. It was obvious that he was terrified. Three knew this. He even flinched at the sounds of more approaching footsteps. Two appeared in view, looking confused and sympathetic at the same time. He knew that there was a song the Stitchpunks listened to, but never realized that it was in the film, or he would've never chosen it. Nine also appeared and hurried up to rest a hand on Five's back, "Five…"

"I don't know what got into me." Five muttered under his breath. "It was just… I was just suddenly back there. I couldn't help it, I got so scared, and I… I couldn't run fast enough." Both Nine and Three caught the extra meaning while Two slowly caught on to what Five was so afraid of. Three softly pulled him closer, almost protecting him against her chest, trying to show him that she could, even if she couldn't.

Five began to slowly calm down by time Six and Seven appeared. Six discreetly turned to Two, "One's… One's upset too…. He keeps rubbing his hands together, but won't say anything. Six explained as he rubbed his hands together to mimic the action. Slowly, Two nodded, and Five looked up at him, "I'm alright, Two, really. You can go see One." Two exhaled calmly before smiling. "Yes… Thank you, Five. Are you sure you are alright?" The Healer nodded and received a gentle pat on the back before Two turned to leave to address the leader.

Six kneeled beside Five and looked very sympathetic. As one of those there, especially being one of those lost there, he was obviously in distraught too. Five decided then that he had enough sympathy and wrapped an arm around Six's shoulders. "It's okay, Six. It's over now. Now it's just a song." Six looked up at him, obviously still distressed, and slowly took the one eyed one in a desperate embrace that neither wanted to release.

Now, it was merely a song.

* * *

**Mable: Songs can certainly bring back memories. Anyway, next chapter up tomorrow! I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	27. Chapter 27: The Film's Influence

**Mable: Here's chapter Twenty-Seven! I don't own 9, Enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Film's Influence_

When Five returned, the few who didn't go to see him looked at least a little relieved, and even Two did as well. As Six explained, One was acting a bit oddly, staring off into space and wringing his hands. He must have also been bothered by the memory and, while Five regretted his upset, he was glad that the leader actually did care. Soon, Five was sitting back on the film canister, this time Six wanted to sit on the floor in front of him while Three sat beside him. Seven managed to squeeze on the back again.

It was then that Nine dared to think about the touching again. He could still feel where the fingers slid over his back and firmly wondered if it was the pale female who had did so. It made him feel warm and confused before he approached the canister. This time, he sat next to Six, and waited for the movie to begin. Eight managed to reset the phonograph, Two started up the film again, and the candle was blown out.

The song didn't sound so traumatizing the second time through. Nine could now clearly see that Six didn't look pleased with a distinct frown. He almost looked like he was going to start crying. Nine put an arm around his shoulders as Five reached down and tussled his hair. "It's almost over." He insisted to the Artist who now directed his optics to the floor. The zippered male glanced over towards the phonograph to see Eight and watched as the Guard sent him this look like he was going to attack him.

Nine decided to then look up at the film again as the song started to finally die down. Six and Five relaxed and everything seemed content. However, everything wasn't content, far from it, in fact. Instead, some of the others were having problems. Or, mostly, Eight was. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't like the way that Nine was holding Six so closely. What was even worse was that the Artist didn't push him away or look disturbed at all.

It made Eight become just a bit too daring and as the film continued he slipped towards the canister. Though, the others could clearly hear him, so Six soon looked back and saw him. Eight took the opportunity to beckon the male over to him. As such, Six stood to cross over, and promptly tripped over Five's foot and sprawled across Nine's lap. Eight's fury turned to shock at the scene and he could only stare at the Artist as he scrambled to get off of the zippered male's lap.

"Sorry!" He quickly apologized and headed straight back to Eight's side. He looked flustered from falling atop Nine; for whatever reason, Eight liked the look. In fact, he felt a lot better once Six was by his side. "Wanted to watch you and make sure nothing went down. You can sit… On this." He drug a random wooden piece up. It looked like an old chair leg, though Six wasn't sure why it was here. He sat down on it, pulling up his legs and pressing them to his chest, and looked back up to the screen.

Eight followed his gaze and decided to sit down as well. Only seconds later and Six turned to Eight, "You're going to still tell One about what I saw, right?" The Guard nodded, "I'll tell him after this goes off." The Artist seemed pleased at the response and began to watch the film again. Time began to pass as the movie continued on. It was probably near the end of the film and the girl had just melted a woman who was absolutely the oddest color that Eight expected; green.

That's when he felt a soft weight against his arm. Glancing down, he could see Six was lying against him, and raised a stitched brow. "Six?" He whispered and reached over to prod at his shoulder. The Artist moved a bit, but in a bizarre direction. Instead, he pushed farther towards Eight and even brought his hand up to rest on Eight's arm. It was only then that the Guard put together that Six had to be asleep and also assumed that he hadn't been getting much sleep.

It was a given. Whenever Six had nightmares he tended to avoid sleeping. Knowing this, Eight begrudgingly didn't awake him, but he certainly wanted to. He felt uncomfortable for some reason, having Six so close, and he just couldn't understand why. Eventually, though, he reached up and rested his hand on Six's head, gently petting over his mat of yarn. He never realized how soft it was, even if stained by ink, and it made his hand tingle from the soft locks.

Suddenly, he realized that he was spending too much time admiring what Six looked like. In his opinion it was creepy to gawk at someone who was sleeping. It just seemed disturbing and Eight tried to pry himself away. His body refused to work and soon he realized he'd be trapped in his position. Only then did he allow himself to accept that maybe he found that Six looked very appealing to the optics; even the parts that he once thought were weird.

Nine was paying all his attention to the film though. Surprisingly, it inspired him, but he didn't know for what. He began to think that maybe he just wanted an adventure like the human girl had, somewhere far away and new, and his mind went to the recent trip to Paris. It had been amazing, but he sadly believed that this meant there were no other cities around Luxembourg. No other places to go and see something new.

He felt a bit of longing as the film came to a close and the projector was shut off. After a few seconds of darkness, Two lit a candle again, "We should go back to the cinema and bring back more films." He could be heard suggesting to One who surprisingly sounded fine with it. Seven stood and stretched her stiff limbs before looking around. "That was amazing." Child responded, "That was the Wizard of Oz." Nine realized that he was inches behind him and jumped in surprise, "Ah!"

He spun around on his backside, "What are you doing?! Why are you sitting right behind me?!" Child seemed nonchalant, "I was merely staying close to someone in case the lights died again." That's when Nine put the pieces together and came to a conclusion. "Were you touching me when it was dark last time?!" Perhaps he said it too loud, because everyone suddenly was looking over in their direction. Child sputtered and huffed to clear his throat, "I wasn't touching you! I merely felt over your back, trying to feel who you were!"

Suddenly, it made sense, and Nine had to realize that Seven hadn't been lovingly touching him. Instead, Child was just feeling him out, and that was disappointing. Nine stood to his feet, "Next time maybe you should say something." He suggested and Child huffed and turned away, "_Naiv."_ Nine looked back, "I heard… That!" Even though he wasn't exactly sure what he said, he now turned to Five, "Are you alright?" Five nodded as he stood, "Yeah, I'm feeling better. I guess I overreacted."

Nine shook his head, "Of course you didn't! I felt unnerved by the song too. I just didn't say anything because you were upset." This seemed to make Five feel relieved and he sent a smile to Three who was still by his side, holding her hand. Soon, they all headed into the Sanctuary. Eight actually volunteered to carry Six into the Sanctuary. The Artist was in a dead silent sleep and Eight carried him back into the hall. Out of accidental reflex, Eight laid Six down on his own bed, and then went to approach One.

He knew what he had to do and decided not to back out. One was back on his seat when the Guard approached, "Boss, we have a problem." One abruptly stood, "I care little on your opinions, Eight. Two and I are mating whether you accept it or not." Eight looked confused, "Yeah, that's not what we have a problem with." The leader looked taken aback and slowly sat back down, "I see… Yes?"

"Six is having the dreams about another Stitchpunk again. I'm thinking this Stitchpunk is real." Unlike before, this time One looked unsure. "Eight, I know Six has dreams, but I cannot say whether or not they're accurate. This leaves much room for doubt." Eight was determined, though, "It's one of those real ones, Boss. I know. He's seeing signs that he saw before the incident. This could be important."

"Eight, I am sorry, but I cannot send us all randomly into the world to find a non-existent Stitchpunk." One was growing firmer and the others were beginning to hear and pay more attention to the situation. However, before anyone could say a thing, Eight spoke up. "Then I'll go alone." The leader stared at him before hissing, "You would not dare to turn on me. I just gave you a clear 'no'."

"Sorry, Boss." Eight continued, evenly toned, "But I've got to go find this guy or Six is never going to sleep again. He's out there, he's running from us, and he's got glowing eyes so he won't be that hard to find." One stared at Eight as though the larger doll began to speak gibberish. That's when Two abruptly decided to get involved, to One's annoyance. He glared at the Inventor as he walked up to Eight's side, "Who?"

Eight quickly explained. "Six said he was drug out of the water by a Stitchpunk and is having dream about another Stitchpunk in the Emptiness. He says he thinks it's running from us, which is why we can't find it, so we need to go out and find it before it leaves again." Two was the exact opposite to One by taking it to heart as though he too trusted Six's dreams that much. One huffed and Two ignored him, "Well, I believe him."

"Two." One spoke up, "Do you really wish to go out into the world searching blindly? For something that may not exist?" Two surely nodded, "I trust Six, One. He has seen things before. Unfortunately, we didn't catch this before because of our doubts. Now we know, we know he's right, and this dream could be right just the same." Then he added, "May I remind you that a Stitchpunk out there alone is in obvious dangerous."

"We could be in obvious danger." One added, but Two was convinced, and turned to Eight. "I'll speak to One. You can tell Six that we will be searching first thing in the morning." Eight nodded, relieved, and turned to leave the Throne room to escape One's wrath. The leader immediately stood, "Two. We need to speak." Two exhaled calmly and sent his mate a smile, "Very well. Lead the way." One certainly did, storming straight to his chambers.

The rest of the Stitchpunks just watched the scene with their own thoughts. "Six saw another Stitchpunk?" Seven asked in confusion and the others couldn't believe it. Unlike One, though, they did. "Another Stitchpunk?" Nine asked in confusion, "But I was born last. I was still on the… In his- you know- his Machine when I awoke." Child chimed in, "Perhaps another made before One. I highly doubt it, but it is possible."

Seven hummed, "Nine… You do have an odd number to stop on. Don't you think?" The zippered male shrugged a little, "Maybe… But Child would be a tenth, so…" Three and Four shrugged as well before Five spoke up, "Either way; Six isn't usually wrong. We should check even if we don't know, just in case." The others agreed with this thought. In fact, they all seemed a bit curious to what a new Stitchpunk would be like.

Soon, though, Seven stretched again. "If we're planning to get up early then I should get some sleep." She began to head back towards her room. "Goodnight everyone." There was a few 'goodnight's as response and soon Five followed, "I might head to bed as well. Coming Nine?" Nine briefly paused before shaking his head, "I might stay up a little later." The Healer smiled at the comment, "Alright. Good night everyone." He even gave Three a soft kiss upon her forehead before heading to his room.

The twins, though, soon followed down the hall as well. Four and Three briefly exchanged words before Four continued towards their room. Three, however, slipped into Five's room. Five was sitting on his bed, taking off his bag. He looked up and smiled at the librarian, "Hey, Love, I thought you were heading to bed." Three felt her insides flutter at the name and patiently approached his bed before giving a pleading look.

He seemed confused and she gestured to the bed, then herself. "You want…" Five seemed confused, "You want to get in bed with me?" He was obviously flustered and embarrassed, but she nodded vigorously. He smiled, "O-Okay. Here- I'll just- well- move over." He slipped under the covers and moved closer to the wall to allow Three to climb in. She nearly jumped into the bed and rolled next to him, pressing into his front. She had wanted to share a bed with him for quite some time now.

She wasn't disappointed either. The second he got the nerve to wrap an arm around her frame was amazing. She shivered in delight and reveled in the feeling of being this close to the one she loved. "Goodnight, Love." He spoke softly and she did a quick flickering of her optics to signal her own 'goodnight'. The two soon drifted off together.

Eight wasn't nearly as relaxed as he realized his mistake from earlier. Six was on his bed and he was suddenly too unnerved to touch him, so he remedied this by dropping his things to the corner and leaving again. If Six had his bed, he'd have to take Six's instead. Entering the Artist's room he immediately realized how small the bed was. "This isn't going to work." He pointed out to himself as he crossed over to the bed, "I'm surprised this thing holds him. It's not going to hold me."

He sat down and listened to it make a strange creaking noise before going silent. Then Eight began to lie back, swearing the entire time, and listened as the bed continued to protest against his movements. It was a bit annoying since Eight didn't see himself as being that heavy. Though, compared to Six's light weight Eight seemed to weight more than a ton or two. The bed held once he lay down and stayed still again.

He folded his arms behind his back and stared at the ceiling above him. He could understand how Six could have nightmares here; the room was empty, dim, and farthest from the other Stitchpunks. At least in Eight's room he had One across the hall and Seven's beside his, Six's walls were too thick to hear Five and Nine and the twins weren't exactly across the hall. There were drawings everywhere, but Eight didn't mind them; the newer ones were actually quite nice. Still, he had trouble sleeping.

"How dare you go above me!" One scolded Two as they entered the leader's room, "You believe that now, because they know of us, you can overthrow me!" Two's hands rose, "One, I would've said that no matter what. You know I trust Six's judgment." The Leader was certainly insulted, though, and refused to listen. "What is out there that all of you want so badly?! I knew allowing you to fill their minds with 'Oz' and 'Rainbows' would only cause them to rebel!"

"One, that's not true." One spun around, "Then what else would it be?!" He rose his hand to point at Two as he continued ranting until he noticed something. Two was panting. "Two?" Two put a hand up, "Sorry, I just… I just need to catch my breath." It was so sudden that the Leader was in shock. Two sat down on the bed and caught his breath, "It's okay, I just had a tiring day." Almost immediately, One sat beside him before reaching forward and resting a hand on his shoulder, massaging it.

"You have not needed to rest since… Since your surgery." He sounded concerned and leaned closer to press his lips to Two's cheek. "I'm sorry. I should not have yelled." Two smiled a little, "It's my fault. I was overworking today." One continued to hold the small Inventor closer, "I'm calm, I'm better, let us discuss this as adults." They both sat down on the bed and began to do so.

Nine stared out the opened vent window at the dark night outside. "Do you really think there's another Stitchpunk?" As expected, Child simply shrugged, "It's impossible to tell. Maybe, maybe not." Nine exhaled, "I… I wish there was." Child spun to look back, "You want more Stitchpunks?" Nine shrugged, "Well… I don't know. I would like something. A new Stitchpunk, wouldn't that be great? I mean, when you came it was incredible, so it could be good."

"Why Nine," Child said in a mocking tone, "I didn't realize I meant so much to you." Nine huffed, "Okay, that's not what I meant." The pale male continued on, "Oh, I disagree. I think you are hiding your secret fondness for us with certain fabric color." Nine stood up in annoyance, "That's not true." Child smirked, "Oh no, I can see it in your optics. First Seven and now myself, will your lust ever cease? Perhaps Six is the next victim, or are his stripes your one deterrent?"

Then second Nine came at him, Child turned and fled. Not out of fear, but of the thrill of the chase.

* * *

**Mable: Alright, the spelling may be off, but I'm half sure that 'naiv' means 'Naïve' in Luxembourgish. If it doesn't, well… You get the just. By the way, if I do have any alternate languages in the future, they will always be in italics and I will always give the translations. ^-^ Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed. Next chapter up tomorrow!**


	28. Chapter 28: The Trying Search

**Mable: This is actually the beginning of another arch. I didn't plan to fit this with the last one, but since it was so short I did so anyway. I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Trying Search_

By time morning came, One and Two were in agreement. Two managed to awake earlier and gently shook One awake, "You said you wanted to leave early." He reminded as the Leader released a soft groan under his breath. The Inventor put a soft kiss on his forehead and playfully twirled the knot on his head. Something about sharing a bed had him in a very good mood. In fact, he felt very good today, and soon One began to sit up.

Being determined to have One not complain over their decision, Two unfolded One's cape and pulled it on his shoulder, smoothing it out lovingly as he felt the once tense shoulders relax a bit. "It will be fine. We won't go too far." The Inventor convinced and One pulled his crown on, "Yes, and absolutely no nights in the Emptiness. I refuse to spend another night sleeping on dirt." The Inventor chuckled a bit at the comment, "Let's awake the others."

So they set out to do so. Two went to awaken Five and Nine. He felt an edging smile as he noticed there was another figure in the bed beside his apprentice. He could tell it was Three and reached over her and shook Five's arm. "Five, we're leaving soon." As expected, Five was a heavy sleeper, and buried into Three to keep from awaking. Almost like a child and Two suddenly had a warm feeling of parenting spread through his chest.

"Now, Five, come along." He said with an upbeat tone, "It's a new day and we must go find Six's Stitchpunk." Now the Healer began to finally sit up and awaken. The librarian awoke as well, seeing Two and shyly, discreetly, sinking under the blankets to cover herself from the world. The Inventor then turned to Nine and shook his ankle, "Nine?" The zippered male shot up, "Stop it, Child!" he was surprised to see the Inventor, "Oh… Sorry, Two. Child kept coming in last night and poking at me."

Two chuckled, "If you'd like to, you can wake him. We're leaving soon." It sounded like perfect revenge and Nine quickly tore out of the room and into the Workshop. He nearly leapt on child which sent Pet, who was hidden under the covers, running in circles over his master and making odd shrieking noises. For a second Nine regretted the action until he saw Child sit up horrified, "What is it?! What happened?!"

"Just waking you up. We're leaving soon." Nine had his innocent smile playing as a mask and Child had a distinct look of annoyance. Before he could speak up, though, One peered in, "You two are up. Very well." Then moved on once again. The zippered one explained, "We're going to look for Six's Stitchpunk." The hook fronted male looked exhausted and unimpressed, shoving the blankets to his ankles, and soon drug himself off of the cot. Pet crawled up to Child's shoulders and perched calmly.

Nine decided to now steer clear of Child because, if looks could kill, he'd be murdered in a second. He went to find Two or Five again while One went to get Eight. To his surprise he found that his larger guard was not sleeping in his bed. Instead, the smaller Artist was curled up in the center of the bed that was too big for his frame. Even though confused One still awoke him as Six was the reason they were going out to search. "Six." He spoke quietly and the Artist's optics soon opened.

"One?" He groaned a bit, "Where am I?" The Leader decided to be gentle with the striped one, "Eight lent you his bed. Did you have any dreams last night?" Six thought to his , a rush hit him, and his mismatched optics widened.

_It was an endless nothingness that stretched in every direction. Nothing was there except hovering drawings that looked suspiciously like his own. They began to move and dance before his eyes before melting together into a figure. It was clearly a Stitchpunk shaped creature now even though it was outlined in white paper and black ink drawings. Glowing circles formed where its optics were to be. Six rushed forward, but it suddenly fell apart into a layer of papers._

"No." Six lied. "I don't… I don't remember." He sat up quickly and watched as One turned to seek out Eight, "Take your time." One really was a lot more passive with the striped one and decided to head towards Six's room. He had an idea that if Six was in Eight's room then Eight was probably in Six's room. One headed over to the room and opened the curtains to see Eight lying on Six's small bed. "Eight." One announced and the Guard sat up.

The second his weight shifted, there was a creaking, and suddenly the top right section of the bed plummeted downwards. Eight slammed into the ground on his front and sputtered in disturbance. "It waits for now to break?!" The Leader rubbed his temples, "Eight, we're leaving." The Guard managed to stand and was very confused, "Going where?" The Leader huffed, "After the possible Stitchpunk in the Emptiness. Six will be leading us there." He exited the room and Eight followed behind him.

The others were almost ready. When One went to awaken Seven she immediately appeared at the door, not wanting him anywhere near her things. Three got Four and they all made it into the throne room before heading to the bucket lift. After two separate trips, they were down in the library, and One abruptly stopped them. "We need a detailed plan." He turned upon Six and Eight who were standing close enough that both could be centered in his gaze. "Where have you seen about this… Vision?"

There was obvious doubt in his voice, but Six cautiously began speaking. "I don't know what it means… But- but its eyes are always glowing. I think it's running from us, too, but I'm not sure why…" he then tried to force himself to focus, to feel anything, attempting to grasp any chance of a direction. Finally he felt something, like a suggestion, and spoke, "I… I think it's where those- where the…" Deciding that he couldn't explain, he quickly headed towards the entrance, "This way." The others followed behind as well.

Child's feelings on Six's vision seemed relatively apathetic. When he asked One, "Do you believe him?" it was more of a test towards One's ability to follow another's lead and One took it in stride. "Of course I do." Though Child could hear the unsure tone; found it interesting to say the least.

* * *

The weather could only be described as colder than usual. On the trip to Paris it was been hot and uncomfortable, but now the air felt a little chilled, and Two chimed up. "It feels like Autumn is coming early this year. It would be a nice relief to the constant temperature." The others agreed quietly, but most focus was set on Six. He walked in almost a dazed fashion. Staring about and searching for anything that could lead him to the Stitchpunk in his visions.

He had led them to the section of Luxembourg with the still standing buildings and began to walk down a single street in particular. Once at the end of it he went down another, and another, and only after a few times of this did the others realizes they were circling the same houses over and over again. "Six?" Nine tried, "Where are we?" The Artist didn't really answer. He just stared at the same line of houses in a daze, looking quite confused, and suddenly grabbed his head. He muttered sadly and Five approached him in concern.

"Do you need to sit down for a second?" Six shook his head, "No… No I need to find… I just can't see…" He was interrupted by a gust of wind that caused him to sudden shiver. Nine tried to press again, "Should we try checking in the houses?" Almost reluctantly, Six nodded, and began to clutch his key and stare at the ground. Nine turned to the others and spoke, "I would like to go into the house first." He gestured to the closest in the strip of houses, "Just to check for anything inside."

"Nine, no." Seven tried to reason, "Remember last time? You ended up getting attacked. It would be too dangerous." Nine smiled a little, reassuringly, "It's better me than everyone else." He rested a hand on Seven's shoulder caringly, "I promise. I'll be fine." He smiled and she looked especially worried. Their moment was broken when Nine's Lightstaff was ripped out of his grasp. "I'll just do it myself." Child growled out, obviously annoyed and storming towards the building alone, "Overdramatic about a house."

Nine didn't really know why it annoyed Child, but he then began to toy with the idea that, maybe, he had been a little dramatic about entering a small house. Considering the fact that none of the others looked concerned. Seven pointedly also decided not to bring up the scene again. They waited for a good ten minutes before Child finally returned to them. "It's empty, completely." One huffed, "The others?"

"You want me to check them all alone?" Child asked as he leaned down to stroke Pet who was scuttling around his feet from his return. One glared, "Of course I do not. I was suggesting that we check the others." He turned to Eight and beckoned him. The Guard couldn't admit to himself that he wanted to leave Six alone, but decided to go along with One; since he was sure he couldn't help the Artist feel better anyway.

The others slowly followed, Two lagging to help Six move along towards the next house. If anything, Six was acting more paranoid as they moved onwards, and even more skittish to which Two was quite concerned. Through the next house nothing was found, the Stitchpunks worked diligently, and by the time they scanned through the houses they had found nothing. "Where next?" Nine suggested to Six, at this point they were now back outside and trying to figure out where to go next.

Six, though, seemed to be shocked by the prospect of leaving, "Something's here… We have to keep looking here." Seven spoke up desperately, "Six, we checked the houses." The Artist retorted quickly, "We haven't checked every house. We need to split up, we need to keep looking, we can't stop." With that, he turned on his heel and scanned the surroundings, "Maybe… Umm… Maybe that one." He pointed at another house across the street, "That one feels good, close enough. Come on, Eight."

The weirder fact was that Eight actually started to follow Six along. Six's sudden assertive behavior taking him off guard. One decided to quickly assure who was leader, "We will keep searching a bit longer. Eight, you will be coming with Two, Five, and I. Nine, Child, Seven, take the twins and follow Six. We will be searching the house over here." He pointedly split them to show his leadership, most likely, and yet nobody really minded. Save when Eight decided to chime in, "I think I should follow with Six."

"Why?" One abruptly demanded and Eight went defensive before continuing, "Because, if he's right, this Stitchpunk could be confused and ready to fight." This seemed good enough for One whom now changed his mind, "Fine. Eight, you go with Six and Seven will come with us." Seven didn't argue and the two groups decided to split. One's group entered the one house that seemed to be a mere frame.

"From the looks of these burns and ashes," Two began as he touched over the blacked wood, watching it peel against his fingers and rubbing them together, "I'd say it was a recent fire. Perhaps during a thunderstorm. You wouldn't believe how many of these homes are destroyed by lightning strikes." Five grew a bit concerned, "That, umm, wouldn't happen to the Library, would it?" The Inventor smiled reassuringly, "Of course not!"

"Most of the Library isn't made of wood so it is a bit less flammable." Seven added in. However, ruining the sureness, One added in his thoughts, "The Cathedral was not made completely of wood either." Two exhaled softly and Seven scoffed, "It was that cauldron, One, we all knew it was a danger." The memory only caused One to mutter and glare away angrily.

After a few seconds, Five felt the need to speak, "It was probably from the electricity we were using. The cauldron wouldn't have caused much damage alone." One stared at him blankly. Five had just allowed himself to take blame for the Cathedral's burning down. Technically, though, Five did feel at fault for what happened. Nine and him had both led the Winged Beast back to the Cathedral and had triggered everything. Five had a tendency to blame himself solely as Nine had been young.

"No." One suddenly insisted, "It was the cauldron. However, it kept the Cathedral warm, it was a risk we had to take for comfort reasons." The others nodded in agreement, even if Five didn't feel better. Two wrapped an arm around Five's shoulders to somewhat encourage him, which helped a little bit. They continued to search the house when Seven found something that left her in just as much discouragement as Five.

It seemed silly, seeing something and making such a big deal about it, but Seven found herself taken aback by the lovely picture lying framed on the floor. It was a beautiful woman with dark hair pulled into a knot on the back of her head. Her eyes were full of life, her smile was radiant, and she wore a long, flowing gown. Seven found herself admiring how beautiful the woman was and for a second felt a bit jealous.

"One." She called out to the nearby Leader, "Look at this picture, please; I need you to be honest." The Leader crossed over and looked down at the photograph before remarking, "She's quite lovely for a human." The Warrior nodded, "She is… I was wondering-." One interrupted, "You want to know if I think she is lovelier than you?" She stared in alarm, "How did you know?" One looked away from the picture, "It is common for females to compete as males do. Especially if the other female is another creature."

She looked down in a bit of embarrassment, "I suppose that it is a bit silly." The male shook his head, "Not at all. It is simply part of giving effort to one's own look." He then added in, "You are very lovely, Seven, and especially since you need nothing to accentuate your looks as humans frequently used." At first she expected a glare or a smirk, but didn't receive either. In fact, One was very sincere, and she smiled, "Thank you."

Things were not nearly as put together with the others in the other house.

The house was just as poor as the burnt down one. It even had some fire damage, but more damage was done by the war, entire walls were knocked in at places. The stairs still stood and Nine pointed it out to the twins who followed with him. Eight, seeing him rush off, followed with an annoyed look and a call of, "Don't go too far!" Child was also going to follow along before he noticed that Six was staring out into space.

Six was sure he heard something. Something metal caught his audio receptors and he perked before looking around vigorously. "I… I hear something!" Child heard the same noise, but was unsure. "That doesn't sound like a Stitchpunk, Six, it sounds…" He stopped as he noticed Six now running in a random direction. Child was taken aback, looked back to see none of the others noticed, and then spoke abruptly to Pet. "Pet, find the others, bring them." He commanded and Pet began to scurry off like his master instructed.

Child followed after Six, "Six, come back!" He sounded desperately tired, not wanting to chase after the Artist, and watching as the striped one continued to run along ahead. Six was sure he heard something and was so determined to find the Stitchpunk from his visions. That was, until he suddenly had a weird feeling telling him to stop, and he did. It wasn't soon enough and all Six heard was a sharp crack before the thin wood beneath him opened up.

He disappeared into the darkness below and, unfortunately, Child couldn't escape the breaking ground without getting drug down as well. There was no climbing with the extra arms as he couldn't get the hooks on his back unlatched in time. The next thing he knew he felt the wind get knocked out of him as he stared at the fallen in boards of the burnt room's floor. Six also hit the ground, but managed to recover quicker, as he had sustained long falls in the past.

As he looked around he realized he had made a horrible mistake. Everything hurt, Child wasn't moving, and he crawled over. "Child?" The pale Stitchpunk was breathing shallow as he tried to adjust to everything. Soon he rolled over and started to push himself up, "Creator…" He murmured and Six looked him over, "Are you okay?" Child nodded, "Yes, I'm fine." He reached back and undid his back hooks to release his mechanical arms to slide out. They felt little pain and helped him lift off of the ground.

Six stood and looked in the direction of the metal noise that was now louder than before. It was clearly not a Stitchpunk and he crawled over to a sideways laying board. Peering through a crack he gasped before covering his mouth. Inside was what looked like the basement of the house that was now filled with many metal figures with bright red optics. There looked to be at least ten of them and he turned back, jumping as he noticed Child was right behind him, also staring ahead.

"It… It is some sort of nest." He said in horror and looked to Six. Six felt a sudden wave of fear and blurted out, "We're going to die."

* * *

**Mable: The last thing you want the one who sees the future to say, eh? Seriously, though, they're in a tight situation. Will they be okay? All to be seen tomorrow. I hope everyone enjoyed.**


	29. Chapter 29: The Beasts' Nest

**Mable: I'm not going to ruin anything with talking. I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Beasts' Nest_

Child had never felt as ill as after Six uttered those words. He felt ridged as his optics counted the glowing red eyes in the dark. There were too many to feel safe with. "_Daiwelen!"_ He whispered harshly and Six slowly looked over at the pale one before clutching his key, "What are we… What are we going to do?" Child looked around desperately, "We're in an underground room of some kind… Perhaps there are stairs out. We need to find a way around the Beasts."

The idea sounded insane even to Six who stared out, but Child acted sure enough, and lowered close to the ground as though in a crawl. "Come along." He commanded quickly and dipped out into the open area. He stayed tightly beside the wall, lying close enough to the ground the Six was sure his fabric made contact, and moved in scuttling movements around the nest. Six followed behind, crouched over and moving quietly.

He could hear the distinct sound of a Winged Beast. After the trip to Paris he expected to find more, but not under the ground. His mismatched optics looked over to see the optics in the pattern of a Winged Beast. It was pulled back into itself, unmoving, but its optics were aglow. On a stack of rubble was a Cat Beast as well. Six didn't know it, but Child recognized it as the Cat Beast that attacked Nine, Seven, and him. He wasn't sure why it was here, though, other than the fact that Beasts tended to group together.

What really horrified Six was seeing the far corner and what was in it. There were multiple beasts in the room, barely visible and some unrecognizable, but in the corner he could see a clear nest of fabric, held together with red thread. It clearly meant a Seamstress and it looked to be a larger one by the size of the bedding it kept. Seamstress Beasts were notoriously dangerous, beyond any other Beasts, and he was wondering if there had been more than one.

It didn't help that, suddenly, the Winged Beast began to crawl about on the floor. Child just barely managed to find a shovel spade that he was able to hide behind well enough. Six also managed to secure a place behind the spade and stared out at the Beasts. Something was clearly moving in the Seamstress' nest. He could see movement and felt an increasing concern. That was, until he was suddenly brought to reality by a bang.

The wooden board that the two were previously hiding behind had been moved and fell over. With that noise, the Beasts suddenly went to alert, and Six begrudgingly wondered if his telekinesis had been triggered and caused the movements. That's when his thoughts were erased by the appearance of the Seamstress. It appeared out of the nest and moved silkily across the floor, long tail slithering behind it.

Six noticed that it was made out of blue material instead of like the old one so it was definitely not the same one, though he doubted it would be, but it looked just as threatening. Before he could watch longer, Child tugged his arm, "Here's our chance." He scuttled farther along and they were soon right under the stairs. Six hadn't noticed them until now, but was relieved to see them. They moved under the bottom step before waiting calmly.

The Seamstress' nest was right at the bottom of the steps, but was unthreatening with no Seamstress inside. Child moved onto the stairs, pulling Six up with him. They managed to climb up the steps some ways before disaster struck. Apparently, they hadn't realized that they had been seen, and suddenly a figure leapt at the stairs. Over the rails, Child could only see for a second before the Cat Beast came down upon Six and him. Then, with a sudden movement, it struck Six and sent him flying.

Six actually tumbled down the stairs before being braced by the Seamstress' den. It caught his fall, but he was immediately alarmed by the fact that the Seamstress could easily get ahold of him. It didn't help when he felt something scurry around him. Looking around he saw horrifying, small balls of needles and joints with singular red eyes, dragging long tails that showed they were clearly some sort of miniature Seamstress that lacked fabric.

The Artist began to crawl away from the scene, just to have the Seamstress appear; whipping its tail around that somewhat resembled a Stitchpunk. Bright lights began to flash, but Six was able to quickly look away and sent out a lash from his mind. It managed to work and he could hear the Seamstress get knocked back. By now, the Winged Beast was beginning to shriek, and the Artist could see another Beast approaching.

This one had a domed top and was peering out from underneath with a single red optic. Large metal claws that looked like Scissors also poked out as it crawled slowly towards him. Six looked up to Child to see the Cat Beast reaching between the stairs. Apparently Child must have fallen through the gap and had to now be under the stairs somewhere. Six could only hope he was okay for a second before turning to the approaching Beasts. Six began to run in a small opening between the Hermit Beast and the stairs.

He kept his head low as he heard something fly by his head. He suspected it was the harpoon from the Winged Beast, but didn't look back. The Seamstress managed to slip in front of Six and he lashed out again. This time, he managed to knock the Hermit Beast back, causing it to flip over and lay upon its back, kicking its feet. At that second a pair of sharp scissors came down upon Six's frame. They tightly pinned the Stitchpunk down, sharply brushing his canvas as they held his waist down.

He knew it could easily slice into him and fearfully watched as the tail moved above his face. That was, until, suddenly, the Seamstress cowered back. Six could hear something over his head and was horrified to hear a noise that sounded too familiar. It sounded like a Machine and as the Artist looked back he could only see Child standing there. Something was wrong with him, though. His optics were alit in red again, but something was obviously different. All limbs, even his machine ones, were still, but not as though he was being cautious.

Surprisingly, he looked confident, and he stared at the Seamstress as though he looked down at her. His optics weren't normal at all. They were not just red; the pupils looked jagged, like the Machine's. It only occurred to Six then that all of the other Beasts were reacting oddly. The Seamstress was removing its scissors from Six, the Winged Beast began to crawl into the back of the room, the Hermit Beast was still unmoving, and the Cat Beast actually fled up the stairs. The others seemed too afraid to move. They actually feared Child.

With that, Six suddenly felt his own fear, and watched as Child started to approach, going straight for the Seamstress. It retreated enough while Child briefly charged forward, driving it off for good, before turning on Six. He approached slowly and Six didn't know whether to be afraid or not. "Child?" He asked cautiously. Child responded quietly, "Why are you looking at me like that?" His voice sounded flat and he expressed little emotion facially. The Artist spoke up louder, as though calling to him, "Child!"

Suddenly Child recoiled as though he was brought out of a trance, though quickly regained compositor, looking to the Beasts. "Six, the stairs." He started to walk backwards towards the stairs, eyeing the Beasts, and Six helped lead him to the stairs. The second they were out of view they were scrambling to climb the stairs and rushed back into the house. The second they made it to the top of the steps, Six ran into a doorway with a half broken door and ran right into Eight's chest.

"Six! What's going on?!" Eight had his knife out and looked on guard. Child retracted his arms and gained control of his eye color. Six sputtered out, "We… We fell into the basement underneath the house… There were beasts everywhere and Child-." Child suddenly burst out, "Six scared the Beasts into submission. He threw one a clear three foot away." The Artist was confused to why the pale Stitchpunk lied for him. Before he could correct, Eight spoke up.

"The thing was acting weird," He gestured to Pet, "He led us down here just in time to see a Cat Beast run out." Nine turned to Child, "Do you think that was the same Cat Beast?" The male nodded and gestured for Pet, who approached from behind the twins. "Naturally. It had the same metal brace upon its neck." The zippered one shivered, "It's like it's following us. Did you see any other Stitchpunks?"

Six suddenly looked down, ashamed, knowing that he had risked his life and Child's for nothing. "No." he said meekly, "There wasn't anyone." Eight shrugged it off, "We just need to keep looking. We'll find him eventually." Six didn't seem so sure anymore. Eight, though, put a hand on his shoulder, almost to steer him, and turned to the others, "Yeah, we should warn the Boss." The others followed behind, agreeing with this notion.

The other four hadn't seen anything interesting and seemed eager when the others returned. "Did you find anything?" Seven asked and Nine responded with, "Beasts, mostly." One immediately forced himself into the conversation, "You saw Beasts? Where?" Nine gestured to the building and Eight summed it up, "Six found a Beast Nest and scared them off." He actually sounded proud and Six felt a small flutter of happiness in his chest, even though he hadn't done as much as they thought.

"Are you alright, Six?" Five asked in concern while Two looked interested as well, "A den of Beasts. I never expected to hear of such a thing! How many did you see?" Six paused at the attention before Child answered, "There were ten. Though the most troubling was the Seamstress; it was clearly producing more." Six must have been the only one who noticed that Child called it a Seamstress without having a real indication that it was what the Stitchpunks called it. Though the Artist assumed Child must have heard someone else refer to it.

"There was a Seamstress down there?" Eight's voice held this tone that was recognized as the one he got when seeing a threat. The Guard wasn't fond of Seamstresses for obvious reasons and was more than willing to go hunt down and stop the Beast. Child nodded, "Yes. There were also, what I could only assume was, Infantile Seamstress young." This disturbed everyone, but Nine was the one to respond quickest, "Wait, it was creating young Beasts?"

He was very confused about what 'young' was and Two put the pieces together. "That could explain why there are still so many Beasts… Even when one is killed, they have learned to create more." Child put everyone at ease with his opinion, "Only certain Beasts can do so, and even then they can only replicate. Any flaws they have will be put into their offspring. As such, it is normally built into Beasts that they cannot create others. Though defects do occur."

One scoffed, "Of course. They would somehow find a way to keep producing." Most of the others approached Six in concern, but Nine wanted more answers. Child clearly saw a bit of suspicion in the zippered male's features and decided that keeping his guard up would be best. "Why wouldn't the Machine want the Beasts to create more?" The other male kept eye contact to show no instance of concern or hiding.

"For control. While the Beasts are not as intelligent or skilled as the Machine, it does not want an uprising. Only certain Beasts that can obviously not lead uprisings are given the ability to reproduce. Seamstresses are considered loyal and work well enough that more are needed." Nine suddenly let out the curious look that Child knew could involve suspicion, "How do you know?" Child answered calmly and confidently, "The Machine is very predictable. As predictable as…"

He looked Nine up and down, obviously doing it to catch Nine's attention, and smirked, "Very predictable." Nine caught the message and clearly looked annoyed, but took Child's previous words in. "This could mean that the Beasts won't ever stop…" He shrugged, "Though, I guess, without the Fabrication Machine they aren't too dangerous. We could live with this." He then looked to the others who were now paying attention to Two, who was speaking, "-and begin again first thing in the morning. Less we walk through the dark."

"Maybe one of these buildings could work." Five suggested as he looked towards the more stable houses that they had checked first. The plan was obviously attempting to spend the night in the Emptiness. They moved into the first building and set up a small area in the dilapidated kitchen. They retrieved a cracked plate and made a makeshift fire on it with bits of wood and paper, along with one of Five's matches.

As the sun disappeared and the moon began to rise and gleam through the cracked window, most of the Stitchpunks headed to bed. Both of the twins had retired to a nearby corner underneath a chair, taking with them a shred of cloth that had been cut from the hole filled curtains to use as a blanket. Two soon joined them with a torn piece of newspaper as a blanket. He mentioned not wanting to use the cloth as he wanted the others to have it.

Seven migrated to the front to stand guard while the rest of the Stitchpunks sat around the fire for a while. "What happened to you while you were in the nest? We have certainly heard Six's events, but your own…" One was obviously interrogating Child, brought on by Five asking Six about the previous incident, and the male exhaled in an exasperated action. He didn't want the truth getting out and was tired of dancing around the conversation. Caressing Pet in his lap, he spoke.

"I don't know, One, I got knocked between some stairs and had trouble getting out. By time I was free- Nine, you're asleep." He added when he felt a weight on his shoulder and looked down to see Nine clearly leaning against him. The Stitchpunk had been acting like he was going to collapse for the last while so the white male wasn't surprised. "I'm not asleep. I'm just listening." Nine lied and Child scoffed in a One fashion, "With your eyes shut?"

Nine didn't respond and Child prodded his arm, "Nine, go to sleep." Finally Nine sat up, "I'm not tired." He insisted, sat there for a few seconds, and then stood, "I'm going to go check on the twins…" None of them had to watch to know that Nine promptly fell beside Two before falling asleep. Child sighed a bit and rubbed the shoulder that now felt cold, as it was missing the brief warmth, and then warmed his hands in front of the fire.

Eight turned to Six to reassure the point, "You really scared them all off alone?" Six slowly nodded with a small smile; pleased to see that impressed look return. All the attention really was making him feel proud of himself, even with the situation being state was a little different. Though, he had thrown a Beast, and that counted enough. "Come on, give us all the detail." Eight prodded with his own, mischievous smile. He was always enjoying hearing about Beasts being taken down.

Six sort of shrugged as a response, "I just… I don't know. It was like all of the other times I focused except… Easier…" He slowly began to smile wider, "Like I could control it. Control all of it." This made Eight raise an eyebrow before suddenly shrugging it off passively, "Alright." He looked back to the fire and One turned upon Child, insisting, "Something else happened." Child huffed and retorted, "Nothing else happened."

The leader was obviously still suspicious, but Child tried to look as calm as possible. "Six threw a beast, they were startled, they fled, we escaped; that was it." Honestly, that was the truth, just not all of it. Five interrupted the silence, "You said there were ten of them. That must have been horrifying!" Eight smirked a little, "Trust me; it could have been something way worse. After what Six and I read, it proves it." Five looked confused, "Something worse?" One was dumbstruck, "You have been reading?"

Eight nodded, "Yeah, I was putting it off for a while, but this," He shook his head and smirked, "Listen to this. There's this guy, doesn't like his friend, and decides he wants him out of the picture." Six seemed to recognize the story and listened intently and Eight moved into a kneeling position. "He leads this guy down into the dark catacombs telling him he's got a bottle of wine that's worth the world. Leads him down there, gets him nice and delusional with some wine, and leads him down to an open wall. Tells him the wine is just inside the opening."

He pointed forward as though pointing at something. "Then he chains him up!" He said quickly, causing Six to actually jump and Five to stare in alarm. "Chains him against the wall before beginning to brick up the wall brick by brick. Seals him away, his troubles now gone, and the man is never caught." Eight leaned back, impressed with himself. "Edgar Allen Poe." Child chimed up, holding his hand up as his face contorted in forced memory, then snapped his fingers, "The Cask of Amontillado." Eight blinked in confusion, "That was it. How'd you know?"

Child got this small smirk on his lips as he readjusted his sitting position, "Father had a book of his tales. I read when I was brooding and troubled… This would be all of my free time." He smirked wider, "Eight… Have you ever heard of Berenice?" Eight was interested in the prospect of more tales, "Haven't. What's it about?" Even Six listened in as Child began to recite the story.

"There was once a man who was married to his cousin. Both were ill; her in the body, him in the mind. She had this condition where she would fall asleep for long periods of time while he was constantly left obsessing over the oddest things."

"What things?" Five asked curiously and Child looked to him, "This time, it was his wife, Berenice. Or, mostly, her teeth." Even without teeth, the Stitchpunks were aware of what they were, and One looked disturbed, "For Creator's sake, Child-."

"One day she ends up passing on and they bury her outside. The servants notice something odd as their master is finding that he can't remember what he recently did. They soon find Berenice. She's alive in her tomb, it was her illness and not real death, but she is dripping in blood. They rush back to the Master who just realized that he has been in possession of a small box that just happens to be filled with teeth."

It wasn't scary, it was just disturbing, and Eight was the only one looking impressed. "Damn, that man could write; Even with him being human." One took this time to abruptly stand, looking promptly disgusted, before turning around and storming towards where the others were sleeping. Six and Five looked equally shocked at the story. Five's mouth was slight agape and Six's pupils were obviously widened. That was, until Eight spoke up, "Got anymore?" Child began to smile mischeviously.

"Let me tell you of the Murders in Rue Morgue."

* * *

**Mable: **_Daiwelen_** actually translates, though it is probably spelled wrong, into 'Devils'. It is used as a swear word. Also, the story Berenice is actually a real story by Edgar Allen Poe, as is the Cask of Amontillado and the Murders in Rue Morgue. Tomorrow is the last chapter of the arch. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	30. Chapter 30: The Failing Vision

**Mable: Chapter Thirty! The bizarre feeling when you know you've written a lot… Then you realize you just past a quarter of the way into your fic… It's never going to end. Ah, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it! I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Thirty: The Failing Vision_

Six didn't realize he was running at first. He just was suddenly brought out of his still confused state by someone grabbing him, calling to him. "Six, it was just a nightmare!" Seven looked very concerned and Six came back to reality. "What… What happened?" he looked around and could see the others staring at him groggily from the sleeping area. Seven, as well, wasn't wearing her armor and looked like she just awoke.

"You started screaming. Before we could get to you to wake you up, you began to run." Seven explained and Six was alarmed. Never had a nightmare ever triggered him to get up and run. He clutched his key and tried to remember the dream, only to see it full force. It was about running after the Stitchpunk with the glowing optics again. This time, it had been speaking, but its voice was all distorted. He couldn't remember a single word.

Eight managed to drag himself over and, to Seven's confusion, started to lead Six back to the others. "Come on, Six. You didn't get any sleep." The Artist was a bit hesitant to go back to sleep, but followed the Guard, as he was unable to do anything else. In fact, he found himself burying into Eight's side, hiding from the dreams. As soon as he was sitting on the cloth, makeshift bedding he was being comforted by the others.

Two began to pet over his back, Seven kneeled before him, the others who were awake looked concerned, and Eight sat himself beside Six. The striped one felt Eight's arm against his back and leaned on it for reassurance. He didn't really want to sleep again, but from the darkness outside it wasn't morning yet. "How long until the sun comes up?" He asked quietly and Two looked outside, "Well… Hmm… I'd say it is almost five in the morning, if not already, so it won't be much longer.

He felt a hand brush his head, almost ruffling his locks, "You need more rest, Six." Eight pointed out tiredly. All Six could think of was how the Guard was touching him in an almost intimate fashion. It made him feel warm and he suddenly wanted to clutch to the Guard, get wrapped in the other's safe grasp, and it made him feel very shy and uncomfortable. Seven nodded in agreement, but Six was hesitant. "I… I want to stay up a little while."

Seven still looked unsure, but Two smiled knowingly, "That's fine, Six. I may be up a bit longer as well if you need me. However, if I don't move next to One he is sure to wake up." The Warrior looked over with a smile. "That's the last thing we want." Two chuckled and moved over to lay by One, still speaking to Seven as, apparently, One didn't care if they spoke as long as Two was nearby and they were relatively quiet.

Six looked back to see Eight leaning against the wall, trying to look awake, but it was obvious that he was still tired. The Artist clutched his key so tightly that his fingers ached in protest before moving beside him and quietly leaning against him. He could soon tell that Eight wasn't awake or alert and slid in more, pressing into his chest and accepting the safety that only Eight could bring. He only had a short time to realize how tired he felt before the world went dark.

* * *

Six awoke to found himself curled under a thick bedding of blankets. Eight was gone, though from the way he had been adjusted Six assumed that Eight hadn't exactly been too disturbed. He hadn't shoved him off or anything. Instead he had been moved into a makeshift bed where he had slept for quite a while. He especially realized that Eight had taken the effort to wrap up a blanket like a pillow and place it under his head.

While the gesture did make Six feel nice, he was brought to by some nearby whispering. Curious, he stood from his bed and crept to the leg of the chair, hiding behind it and listening. When he listened carefully he could hear One and Two talking. One was sounding almost melancholy while Two seemed unusually desperate. "They have not even seen a single sign of anyone else. Unfortunately, it is time to take stock and… And the answer is not particularly pleasant."

The Inventor continued, "He has always been right. I doubt this could merely be a delusion." The Leader added in, "A delusion; no. I am beginning, however, to suspect the possibility that it was not a vision. Maybe it was merely a dream that he soon developed into a vision. The constant reoccurring dreams could be triggered by how much he is focusing on this one." With this solution, Two exhaled pitifully, "He seemed so sure… You are correct, though. There's not been… The slightest sign of any other existing Stitchpunks."

"I am concerned about the toll this is taking on Six." One voiced with actual concern, "This morning, with the running, he could have hurt himself. Something must be done." The Inventor agreed, "I will figure something out, One, I promise you. I just… I just hope Six takes this okay. He was so adamant someone was here that heading back to the Library may do more harm than good." One made sure to remind that they no longer had a choice before the Artist stopped listening.

A rush of emotions hit Six all at once. First was the irritation at his family; Again they just thought it was all in his mind. They were even willing to stop the search just because they didn't trust him. There was also hurt, stemming from the same trust or lack of between the others and him. Finally was the odd, bad feeling. It was almost a welling fear that finally emerged when Six suddenly took the notion to think that maybe they were right.

It could not be true. He had seen the Stitchpunk clearly in his dreams, it saved him from the river, and it couldn't have been made from a simple dream. The more he pondered, the more he realized there were clear signs that he was no longer doing well. Since the Incident, Six had improved socially and physically. He went outside, he talked, and even his newfound friendship with Eight was a step in the right direction.

Now it was all starting to deteriorate. He wasn't sleeping normally anymore, he was having the constant dreams again, and he was even becoming active when still in a sleep state. His speech was starting to go, he was no longer taking good enough care of himself, barely watching for danger, and now any time around Eight triggered the oddest feelings in his body; Especially in the lowest pit of his belly.

"Maybe…" he spoke out loud, to himself, "Maybe they're right… Maybe there was no one at all…" This was turning into the most possible culprit and he found himself sliding down the chair leg to sit upon the floor. "Maybe I… Maybe I just…" His thoughts finished the statement. _"Maybe I am insane."_ The realization scared Six. He had never questioned his sanity before, but now he was, and now it became apparent that he never could really tell if he had been sane.

He grabbed at his hair hard enough that his sharp fingers dug into his fabric beneath the locks. _"There is no Stitchpunk. It was all in my mind." _He then shook his head in argument. "_It was too real. I can't be insane; I was right before." _Then he wrapped his arms around his legs, staring ahead, trying to put the pieces together. _"There's no sign of a Stitchpunk… Maybe there still is one. Maybe he's hiding from us."_

Then in a pitiful burst of misery, Six found his voice working without his consent, "I wish I was normal." It was an honest want. Some days he just wanted to be like the others instead of how he was. He didn't want to see the strange things, to see what was to come; he just wanted to be an artist. The others all could just be what they wanted to be while Six was stuck being some sort of insane freak. Suddenly, all of Eight's past taunting came back, and Six realized how right he had always been.

He wasn't going to be like this anymore. With that, Six decided that he had to have been right, and that he was going to prove it. Still, when Two approached he stayed calmly. "Six… We haven't been finding anything and we think it would be best to return to the Library. We can keep looking, of course, but it may be better to stay closer to home." Six knew this was only partially true, but accepted it.

In fact, he followed home with them, carefully remembering the directions back to the group of houses. He was determined that he would come out alone and search until he found the Stitchpunk. It approached him when he was alone so the chance was better if he was alone again. After the long walk home, he immediately retired to his room, but wasn't sleeping as the others expected.

He spent the day gathering things like a needle, some thread, paper, an inkwell, and even a small, dull knife that he wrapped up in his blanket. Meanwhile, Two was looking at maps again, and soon was approached by the twins. Three and Four quickly voiced their opinion by showing all of the information they had on one place in particular. As with Paris, the twins knew once they got Two to agree that it was only a matter of time before One went along with it.

This place seemed very close and secluded enough that most of the fauna could still be secure. Also it was much closer than Paris, still being in Luxembourg, and Two was soon convinced. One had only been on the throne for a few seconds before Two approached from the bucket lift, the twins following behind. The leader knew exactly what was being propositioned and immediately stood, "No."

Two had a look of mock shock before chuckling, "I'm not sure what you were thinking I was coming for, but I assure you-." One scoffed, "The last time you and the twins planned something, I was abruptly approached by a long, uncomfortable trip to Paris." Now Two gave a mock look of sadness, "I thought you enjoyed Paris." One huffed, "I did. However, I am not leaving again, especially not when we just arrived at home."

The twins looked at each other with doubts, Four asking Three if she thought this would work out and Three claiming that she wasn't sure, as One did seem adamant. Two exhaled and spoke up, "With how upset Six may be, I think a distraction may help him. It is close by." One immediately turned away, absolutely refusing to address this situation, and the Inventor walked up beside him. "Unfortunately, One, this time I am not willing to take no for an answer."

"Excuse me?" One demanded and Two exhaled calmly, "Did you notice how quiet Six was while we were heading home? He's not a fool, One. He knows we have our doubts." The Leader looked towards the vent. "So you plan to leave against my wishes. I see. What shall you do if I attempt to stop you?" Two looked to One out of the corner of his optics, "How do you expect to do that?" The leader threatened, "Under any means necessary."

Two decided to abruptly change the mood. "You mean, under you." One made a choking noise and turned upon Two, "I certainly do not! Furthermore- You are trying to spurn me on!" He accused and the Inventor retorted, "You are once again assuming my ideas to help us are pointedly trying to go against you. I cannot watch as Six hides in his room, believing he was wrong, and you shouldn't want to either." He knew that his mate was displeased and added in, "Besides, you would want to go if you knew more."

"I would not." One protested and Two insisted, "You certainly would. Here, come with me and I will show you what the twins found." The Leader, ready to prove the Inventor wrong, started to the bucket lift. On the way, Two looked to the twins, and shot them a smile that alerted them that he knew exactly what he was doing. The two looked to each other with their own smiles before going to find the others to warn of the good news.

* * *

Once it was nightfall, though, the Artist who they thought was sleeping took into the night.

Six stepped outside the Library while lugging his bag over his shoulder. It was heavy, but had enough that he could stay gone for days without needing much. It was going to be difficult on his own, but he had to do this, and he had to find the Stitchpunk that still haunted his dreams. As he walked along the stones, feet making soft tapping noises, he swore he heard noises in the night. Once or twice he would look around and found himself unable to see anything threatening.

"Where are you going?" Six jumped and dropped his makeshift bag. Immediately he began to check his things for damages. The inkwell was fine, it was the only thing that looked like it could be injured, and he bound everything up in the blanket before looking up to face Eight. He expected to see him eventually after avoiding him all day, but not like this. Six looked especially guilty as well, "Eight… I'm…"

Eight was obviously not going to leave without an answer and stared on with an unreadable expression. The Artist looked away, "I'm going to go look for him again…" The Guard was obviously disturbed, "Six, come on, it's dark." The Artist didn't look at the Guard, "I… I have to go… I have to go find him." He turned around to walk away, but was reluctantly stopped by Eight, "You can't go out there alone."

"Maybe I can." Six suddenly challenged, "All that training should be good for something. I think I can defend myself." Eight couldn't say that he wasn't surprised by the outburst, but hid it well, "Is that what this is about? You're running off to prove you can defend yourself?" The Artist didn't look over, but was obviously unaffected by the accusation. So Eight continued to prod, circling around Six and blocking him from moving, causing Six to become a bit more desperate.

"Eight, please let me by." That was as close as Six could come to a command and was soon rewarded with no such look. Eight continued to block Six's path before the Artist finally huffed, "I can be alone, Eight. I'm not that much of a freak." Eight was taken aback yet again, "What?" The striped one didn't want to, but ended up blurting out exactly what he thought.

"I know you and One, and Two, and all the others just think I'm insane. Just think the Stitchpunk was my mind playing tricks on me, but it wasn't, I know what I saw, and I am _not _insane!" Towards the end his words turned into yelling. It was shocking enough that Eight put his hands up in defense, something he'd do with One, not something he'd do with the smaller Stitchpunk with the mismatched optics.

"Six, what are you talking about? We only came back because One didn't want to spend too long in the Emptiness, not because-." Six interrupted, "I heard One and Two talking, Eight, I heard what they said." He responded sharply and the Guard raised an eyebrow, "What they said?" Six got a hurt look, "I know you think it too. You were the first one saying I was insane and now it's a known fact. I'm insane, there's no Stitchpunk, but it isn't true!"

After that he recoiled with a choking noise, trying to keep himself from completely losing his compositor, and let the bag drop again. "I can't… Do this anymore." Eight was becoming a bit more aware of how Six sounded like he was growing softer. As though he was slowly losing life and draining into nothingness. "What is that supposed to mean?" Eight questioned, becoming more concerned, and Six looked pitiful.

"I was so sure… I was so sure and I was wrong. How can I ever trust anything again? How can I trust myself?..." He looked away, "I can't. Not again." Then, suddenly, he began to whimper and choked again. Slowly he began to break into a fit of choking sobs and it was obvious that he was crying. It made Eight feel ill and the Stitchpunk exhaled heavily, "Six, come on, you're not insane." No response, just pitiful noises.

Six did look pitiful and Eight decided that he wanted to stop this as quickly as possible. It made him feel wrong and disturbed. "You know we don't think you're insane. One doubts everything and this Stitchpunk is just a little faster than we are." It wasn't convincing the smaller so Eight decided words wouldn't matter. It didn't help that, even when crying, Six's little 'flaws' were appealing to a very emotionally torn Eight.

The Guard actually found himself reaching down and caressing Six's cheek, lifting it enough to see his face. It temporarily caused Six to stop his sobs, but the uneven breathing and the soft leftover seizing remained a bit. Six's lips quivered as he struggled to force out words. That soft mouth, which Eight loved seeing pulled into a smile, just was a little too irresistible. Eight only new half of what he was doing as he leaned forward.

He took the soft, small mouth with his own and could only half notice that Six froze. Six didn't really know how to react at first. The entire motion was unknown to the Artist who soon found his own mouth moving just like the other's. Six's movements only spurned Eight, especially when his sharp hands grasped onto Eight's arms, bracing himself to press against him tighter. Their lips moved together and created a beautiful friction.

Neither Eight nor Six were sure how long they continued the action, but eventually separated themselves. Six couldn't start crying again, not after that, but did feel a little shyer having to talk after such an intimate act. Eight also felt this way, but managed to speak, "You're not insane." The Artist smiled a little, "What was that?" Honestly, Eight was avoiding this question, "I don't know. Maybe to stop you…"

There was a few seconds of silence before Eight pulled back, "Or maybe I wanted to do it. I don't know." He looked a little shy as well and Six suddenly spoke up, "I'm still… I still want to go." Eight was alarmed and looked over to see Six has a small smile. The Artist continued, "So… Maybe you should try it again?" Eight caught on and gave a bit of his own smile before moving in and claiming Six's mouth again.

* * *

**Mable: Let's just hope Eight doesn't get too addicted, like with the magnet. He'll be taking hits of Six when One's not looking. XD Anyway, this is the end of the arch! Which means, unfortunately, daily uploads won't begin until next Tuesday. I won't spoil anything, but I have something BIG planned, very soon. I hope everyone enjoyed and I hope everyone keeps reading!**


	31. Chapter 31: The Eastern Area

**Mable: And so the new arch begins! I won't spoil anything, Creator knows I want to, and so I'll just continue on quickly. I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Thirty-One: The Eastern Area_

"It is called Mullerthal." Two explained as he watched the others prepared themselves to leave. Five was paying the closest attention and looked up from his bag, "Mullerthal? Is it like Paris?" The Inventor shook his head with a smile; he was eager to explain. "Mullerthal is much closer than Paris and, instead of a city, is more rural. Perhaps a small town. However, it is the wilderness, the forests, which will be of most interest to us." He pointed out before Five asked, "Forests? Do you think the trees still stand?"

"I'm nearly positive. Mullerthal wasn't big enough to be addressed by the Machines. It may be a bit safer than Paris." One suddenly passed through, "You best be right or I swear that we will never leave this Sanctuary again." He was obviously not joking. He was absolutely serious and would probably stay by his word. Two was confident that this trip would go without any problems in the slightest. The others, meanwhile, just wanted to see this forest that Two promised.

Three sat down beside Five and began to show him a picture that she had cut out of a book to bring along. It looked quite lush and Five smiled at the scene. Three smiled at the buttoned male, eyes flickering in a wanting way, and he knew that she wanted to go. As such, he put his arm around her and did his best to translate her excitement. Meanwhile, the others were preparing themselves.

"Six seems a lot happier today." Nine voice to Seven who was nearby. Everyone had noticed that during the day before Six had been quiet and distressed about something, but by today he seemed to be feeling much better. He was constantly smiling and even acting a bit excited about the trip, as though nothing was bothering him, and Nine was glad to see such. "I wonder if he's excited about the trip."

Seven looked up and smiled, "He's certainly happy about something." They were both relieved and Nine stretched before looking around, "Child's still not here." The Warrior shrugged and turned back to assisting her armor, when she looked to the doorway, "I'll go get him." Suddenly, though, Nine spoke up, "Don't worry. I'll get him." He walked out of the throne room and Seven could only hope that the two males didn't begin to bicker.

Nine headed down the hall and peered into the Workshop past the curtain. Child was sitting on the bench at the table for working, doing something that he could not see. However, he could hear Child muttering to himself. "I don't see why we must leave as early as possible. We will only get tired quicker." Child murmured and sounded a bit upset, as though he had awoken tired and didn't want to go; basically in a poor mood as usual.

Though, something else caught Nine's attention. There was a mutter of the strange words that Nine couldn't understand. He became interested and decided to approach. "_Grausam schlecht_." Child finished quietly before looking to Nine, "Any particular reason why you are staring at me?"

"Are reason why you're in such a bad mood?" Nine challenged and Child rubbed his temples, "Getting up early in the morning. Must we leave at this time? Just so that the sun has another hour to burn down upon us?" He was obviously disturbed and the zippered male leaned on the workbench, "So now you don't even like the sun?" Child gave him a small glare, as though he believed Nine was testing him.

"The bright light gives me a headache." Child explained as he went back to his work. Nine realized he was actually working on some sort of metal piece, trying to sharpen it like a knife, and Nine decided to question him on something else. "You've done that before. That… Thing you do with your speaking. How do you do it?" Child looked a bit confused as he glanced over, "You mean, speaking another language?" The zippered male nodded in agreement, going along with it, "Yeah, how do you do it?"

The white male had a small smirk like smile, "It is the same as speaking, Nine, I simply learned another language to speak. It's Luxembourgish; Native language of Luxembourg." Nine perked, "Did Father know it?" Child paused, "Well… Yes. He knew a few languages. I only picked up one. At the time I thought Luxembourgish was the only important one." This was opening a whole new world for the zippered male who was determined to know more.

Full of ideas and the prospect of his own secret way of communication, Nine blurted out, "Teach me." He was soon surprised at how the other abruptly brushed him off without a second to contemplate. "It is not as easy as it seems, Nine. You would be learning how to speak again. It would take too much time." Nine was not ready to accept this answer yet, "I want to try."

The other didn't answer and Nine exhaled before continuing, "Please?" That seemed to win Child over enough, "Fine. However, if you fall behind I will not continue to teach you. I have enough to do as it is." The younger male leapt up, "That's great! Thanks! When do we start?" The pale male shrugged, "I assume once we begin travelling, as I am busy now." Nine accepted this and started towards the door, "Alright. I'll finish helping the others so we can get going."

Clearly he didn't notice the sudden wince from Child as he headed through the curtain.

* * *

The walk to Mullerthal led straight through an old warzone. It was amazing how dangerous it became and how much the most of the Stitchpunks seemed unbothered. Six was one of these who worried little about the situation. Instead, Six was nearly running, giddy as he carried his small inkwell to his chest. He also brought some paper now rolled up inside his front. That wasn't causing the wonderful warmth that came whenever Six remembered back to the night before.

Eight and he had said little since the event happened, but small, timid smiles seemed to secure that neither regretted or were upset about the incident. Every once in a while, Six would look over and find himself staring at the Guard. He'd feel warm and fluttery during these periods. Then Eight would catch him and Six would find himself quickly look away in shyness. It continued to reoccur until Eight finally decided to get a little daring.

Even in the middle of a warzone, the second they stopped in an old tunnel that the humans would hide in, Eight moved beside the smaller. He actually did exactly what Five and Three were doing. After seeing the buttoned one lock an arm around the twin's waist, he wrapped an arm around Six's. Though they were move secluded. They had purposely moved into the back of the tunnel and away from the others so that they could simply enjoy each other's company.

Until both of them abruptly got tired of touch. Six made the first move, leaning against Eight's shoulder, and Eight took the time to make sure nobody was watching them. Once it was certain that they weren't going to get caught the two began to be more risky. Eight began to pet Six's cheek as he had the day before and listened as the smaller let out the softest sigh. Eight apparently liked the little noises that Six made as he immediately leaned in and took the other's lips.

While Six and Eight were still incredibly unsure about why they were doing this, they certainly knew that they were enjoying it, and their almost complicated relationship seemed a lot simpler like this. Eight kissed Six, Six kissed back, both felt great, and they just made sure not to get caught. There didn't seem to be a single drawback. Eventually they would figure out how to manage both training and the constant lip contact, but for now this was all they needed.

Thankfully Eight was quick and as soon as he heard someone coming he pulled away. Six murmured softly, "Later… Later we'll… We'll meet again?" Eight nodded, "Yeah, sure." He smiled back as the smaller Artist, running his fingers over the striped on Six's arms. The smaller took Eight's hand and the two briefly locked fingers. It was bizarre, but it felt nearly as good as the kiss.

They returned to the others who were around the tunnel, all on extra guard. However it seemed that Child, who would expected to be most on guard because of the nearby human bodies, was actually more relaxed than he had been in a bit. "We'll start simple." He coaxed to Nine who was paying close attention, "Let's start with a greeting; _Moien._" Nine attempted it, "_Moien?" _Child nodded, "Yes, correct. Though, your pronunciation could be adjusted, but we will not bother with that now."

Nine repeated the word again, "_Moien. _Like that?" Child seemed to look pleased and Nine was glad to see he was doing it right. "Very good. _Moien _means 'Hello'. It is a proper greeting. Now, try; _Addi._" This word didn't seem difficult and Nine did his best to pronounce it exactly like Child had. It was clearly obvious that Child was much more fluent than him, though. Still, Child seemed to actually enjoy Nine's progress, and wasn't being as critical as usual, "Yes, correct again. _Addi _means farewell."

It seemed amazing to Nine who immediately voiced up with, "How much longer until I begin to speak sentences?" The pale male seemed amused by this, "Let us just stay with words now. Any word in particular?" Nine thought back, "There was a word you called me a bit back. It started with an 'n'." Child briefly calculated, "_Wei seet een 'naiv' op Letzebuergesch?" _Nine stared before huffing, "You see? You can do it. That is the word, though. _Naiv._"

"You pronounced it correctly." Child pointed out, "I asked; how do you say 'naïve' in Luxembourgish?" The zippered male began to mimic the wording, "_Wei seet… Letze-… Letzebue…_ Wait. You called me naïve?" He was obviously annoyed and Child let out that small smile, the patronizing look, and answered. "Of course." Before Nine could get completely annoyed to the point that he would call Child out on the comment, the male continued.

"_Wei seet een," _He was guiding the younger male who mimicked correctly. _"'naiv' op," _Again, his pupil repeated, and he finished with, "_Letzebuergesch?" _Nine struggled on this word, repeatedly pronouncing it 'Luxembourgish', but eventually managing to copy the example voice. "Correct." Child spoke up and Nine asked, "Am I doing good?" The other male nodded, "For someone who has not tried another language before, you are doing above average, which is certainly positive." Then he went serious, "Now, repeat every word you've learned."

Nine expected Child to be serious about this and thought back. "_Moien_; means 'Hello'. _Addi; _means 'Goodbye'. _Wei see teen 'naiv' op Let-ze-buer-gesch; _is 'How do you say naïve in Luxembourgish?'." The mentor nodded, "I actually didn't think you would be able to gather so many words so quickly. You certainly are naïve, but you learn quick." Nine looked unimpressed, but decided to take it as a compliment.

"It is good that you know Luxembourgish." Two chimed in, "It could be necessary to know such when we arrive in Mullerthal. As such, my Luxembourgish is very poor." Nine was alarmed, "You speak Luxembourgish too?" The Inventor chuckled as he continued to work. Nine noticed, oddly, that he was sewing some old, dirty fabric pieces together. "I only speak a little. I can also read French and German just fine, but cannot speak them too well." Now even more languages were coming into the picture and Nine was being thrown through a loop.

That was, until Five felt the need to ask Two about his actions, "What are you stitching?" The Inventor looked down at the blanket, "Oh… Well I'm… I'm just sewing." What they didn't know, and what Two wasn't willing to say, was that he felt the need to make a blanket. He shrugged it off as recent concern for the storm and instead decided to continue sewing, "Perhaps a blanket. We could use an extra blanket."

Three nodded in agreement, her sister following suite, and so Two felt a little eased about his random burst of sewing. Soon, One spoke up, "We should keep moving. It is not quite dark yet." Two stood to come, his back feeling stiff, and began to follow along with his mate's request.

* * *

Just like on the trip to Paris, the Stitchpunks passed through areas of forest, and eventually came to the point where the forested area started to stay permanent. The trees were tall and thick with lush, green leaves. Large boulders laid about while small, bubbling streams rush around or over them, weaving and lacing through the undergrowth. Between the leaves the sky was barely visible and seemed like nothing more than bright light shining through.

"Look at all this moss!" Five exclaimed as he ran his hand over a nearby rock. Indeed, there was a lot of moss, covering trees and the ground as well. Nine came up beside the Healer and looked at the green fauna, "It's like grass, almost. Except it's short." He ran his hand over the soft greenery and Five explained, "It is, except I think it likes the shade and… I'm not sure what else." Three gently tapped his arm and gestured to the nearby stream. "Oh, and water!" He added in with a small smile.

Three wished she could tell him everything that she knew about Mullerthal and moss, about the weather and the plants, but again found that without a voice she was lacking the ability to communicate. Thankfully, Five was very patient, and determined enough to make sure he understood what she was saying instead of simply guessing. She managed to shake it away and move on. Though Four was aware of the small upset going past Three's face.

She decided to assist Five in helping her sister by bluntly pointing out a small patch of nearby flowers before the Healer. As expected, he saw the flowers, thought of Three, and went over to gather a few. The small, lilac colored petals would obviously appease Three while seeing that her small input helped pleased Four. He tied the tiny bouquet with a piece of spare thread and handed it over to his love shyly. She was thrilled and took them, pecked him on the lips with an embrace, and began to catalogue the unknown flowers.

Meanwhile, Six was finding himself scurrying down a steep hill, and sliding through the layer of dead leaves resting on the ground. Child followed behind him, "Careful of the hill, Six." He warned as he followed down behind. However, it was clear that Child hesitant approach was catching him up more than Six nearly running. "Careful.." Child warned one last time before suddenly stumbling. With a quick cry he suddenly tumbled down the hill, stopping nearly upside down against another large boulder.

Six managed to hurry up to him and stared down at the slightly askew doll. "Are you okay?" Child shoved himself up, obviously annoyed at himself, "Fine, yes, fine." The Artist shoved a hand over his mouth to keep from releasing a little bit of laughter. He could see by Child's mock suspicion, followed by a small smile that he had noticed. Thankfully he was obviously not as angry as to be expected. Mostly because he knew the risks of going down the hill and yet never expected to tumble.

The Artist helped him up and the two began to continue on, making sure to walk in a close radius to the others. Child climbed upon a thin, broken log and walked along it, when Six suddenly asked, "Why didn't you tell them?" Child's optics flickered over before returning to the wooden surface beneath him, "Tell the what, exactly?" The striped one clutched his key; Child now assumed that it was a nervous habit.

"About what happened between you and the Beasts." Six spoke up and the balancing male answered quickly, "Because, Six, if they knew of what happened they would quickly assume that the Beast's responses were caused by my connection to the Machine, as coming from the Machine, and assume that I am some consciousness of the Machine, and then would certainly lead them to turn against me. At least I would expect exile. At most I would expect a death sentence."

Six seemed unsure, but guessed that this wouldn't happen, as they had accepted Six even though he was Telekinetic. "They wouldn't ever hurt you. You're our friend." However, Child wasn't convinced, and manipulated himself to drop off of the log safely, "Yes, Six, but fear changes everything." Six noticed that he almost looked afraid himself, "Fear… Especially fear of the Machine, could drive them to anything."

Then Child turned ahead and began to walk in a random direction, following a sound nearby, and Six could only contemplate the other's suggestion. He wasn't sure if Child was just scared or if he was correct. He was interrupted by a hand suddenly on his shoulder, "Hey." It was Eight and Six looked up quickly. From Eight's neutral look, Six guessed that he hadn't heard the conversation, and smiled back, "Hello." Then paused briefly before adding in, "Should we train? We haven't in a few days."

Eight looked a little confused, like it was the last thing he was thinking of, and regained compositor. "Yeah, I guess. Can you lift…? That little stone right there?" An odd request, but Six soon did as offered, lifting the very small rock easily. He swung it about in a circle before throwing it in the opposite direction. He then looked back to Eight who nodded. "Good job. Training's over." At that second, he suddenly took ahold of Six, and met their lips again.

Child peered out at the scene. The others had decided to move to the edge of a stream and were investigating the surroundings, smiling and looking pleased with the environment. It made Child feel a bit more uncomfortable. Now he was forced to keep what happened hidden, but he knew they would eventually find out. Someone would eventually realize the full extent of his abilities.

* * *

**Mable: '**_Grausam schlecht_**' means something like 'horribly awful' in Luxembourgish. The other translations Child gives are accurate. Anyway, next chapter tomorrow, and I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	32. Chapter 32: The Destroyed Town

**Mable: Here we are, second day of updating! My internet was going insane so I'm glad I'm getting a window to upload this. Let's hope it stays open for the rest of the day. Enough of me, I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Thirty-Two: The Destroyed Town_

Seven had seen the trees break away first and headed back to the others to tell of her findings. She ran through the undergrowth, ducking around the twigs and bushes, before arriving at the area they had turned into a makeshift campsite in the day they had been there. It was a small, mossy area by a stream, surrounded by large boulders. It was safe and hidden enough that they felt secure. It was also close to a stream that made comforting, bubbling noises.

"Two," Seven called as she ran up, "There's a town through the trees right there. It can't be more than a few feet away." The Inventor perked, "There is?" he thought briefly, "I knew there was a town, but I didn't have any idea that we'd be there already." He abruptly stood, stumbling a bit with a flare of unsteadiness, and straightened himself, "Lead the way." It seemed that One was against the idea at that second, "Have you not noticed the slant of the sun? It will be sunset soon."

"We won't be long." Two insisted as he began to follow Seven. Five followed along, so did the twins, but Nine decided to stay behind as he planned to learn more Luxembourgish. Unfortunately, he had been having trouble finding Child, and was determined to get him to teach him again. Meanwhile, though, Six and Eight were finding other things to overtake their time. Surprisingly it wasn't locking lips and was, instead, involved Six looking at smooth stones in the water.

"Look at this one!" He called to the other male who was paying half attention. Really, Eight didn't find the rocks very interesting, even when Six liked to pick out the ones of various colors and such. "Yeah, it's nice." Eight lied as Six showed him a white stone that looked smooth from the water running over it. Suddenly, Eight had an urge, the one that came whenever he was bored and had nothing better to do.

"I'll be right back." Eight suddenly announced to Six and wandered off behind the rocks. The Artist was alerted by the abruptness and looked back after the Guard. Soon, the larger male got out of sight. This was all part of the Guard's plan as he found a quiet place some ways away. For a while, now, Six had been Eight's distraction, but now he was bored and now he was thinking of his magnet again. It was just a little entertainment that he went back to now and then.

Because he was so used to it he knew how much he could use without any aftereffects. He planned to use enough to get a brief rush and then he'd head back before anyone noticed a thing. The second the magnet touched his head the world went a little fuzzy. A smile stretched across his lips, every little annoyance seemed to be gone, and he took a few minutes of pleasure in. Then he pulled the magnet off to get a breath and calm down.

The second he realized Six was standing beside him he jumped with a brief cry. The Artist looked distressed and the Guard tried to hide the magnet discreetly. "What are you doing here?... I thought you were over there looking at rocks." Six looked disturbed and depressed at the same time, "You were doing it again." Eight tried to pass it off quickly; he hated when the Stitchpunks acted like he was addicted. "I was just using it for a second. I can barely feel it."

"But…" Six started to protest, "But isn't it bad for you?" He knew much about it, apparently, but Eight retorted, "It's only bad if used too much. I've really backed off of it. Remember in the Cathedral? I was using this daily." He showed the magnet and Six winced back like it was horrific to see. Eight tried to change Six's mind, "It's not that bad, Six. It can't hurt you." That's when he suddenly had an idea and acquired a devious smile.

"You know, you could try it, nobody would know." Six looked just as shocked at the idea and looked around as though he was scanning for the others. "Eight- I can't- that's the…" Eight continued to press, "Just a little and I promise you won't ever have to do it again." He was sure he could give Six enough to thrill him, but not enough to make the other lose himself, and could see Six was becoming convinced.

Six knew it was wrong, knew he shouldn't do it, but was also curious and trusted Eight enough that he finally reached out and took the magnet. "Okay… Maybe just a second." With that, he lifted the magnet, and let it brush his yarn. In a second he began to start laughing and began to start losing control.

* * *

The small group of Stitchpunks entered the town cautiously. It looked stable enough, though it did seem a bit more weatherworn that their home city, and everyone was interested immediately. The twins approached the nearest building and Five followed them along, while Seven turned to Two. "Do you think it's safe?" Two nodded immediately, "Most likely, yes. I doubt there was much of the war here as the trees are in such good condition. This could just be weatherworn."

She looked up at the still standing buildings. They looked quaint, even in their state, and sturdy enough that they could still supply homes, "Maybe we should spend the night in one of these buildings. We could go back and get the others." She looked back only to notice that Two had stopped in his tracks. He was rubbing his forehead and staring at the ground in a distressed manner. "Two?" She grew concerned and he put his free hand up, "I'm fine, just a bit tired."

"You've been a bit tired a lot recently." She reminded him and he smiled, "Just a sign of getting old, Seven. I expected it to come eventually." She wasn't pleased with this answer, but wasn't going to ask him whether One was involved, keeping him busy or such. Instead she waited patiently as he caught his breath and continued behind her. He noticed her distress and wished he could calm her, but there was nothing he could say other than he was getting old.

At that second, Two suddenly felt very distressed. He had never really paid too much attention to his age as he had guessed that Stitchpunks had a long lifespan. Also, he had never had any real signs of age. His limp was from an accident a long while back, and was now only of habit after his legs were nearly rebuilt after the incident with the Machine. His vision was also a little flawed, but he had deduced it as hereditary, as the Scientist had glasses for most of his life.

Never had Two needed to stop and rest. He could run, he could work for hours, and he could play just as brightly as the youngest Stitchpunk. Now, though, now he couldn't deny that he was feeling tired most of the time. It distressed him greatly and he felt panic inside his being. He couldn't be sure if these signs of age were signaling that he'd soon perish. Two knew little of religion, but deduced that maybe there was a Creator for the humans as there had been a creator for the Stitchpunks.

By the way Stitchpunks' souls could thrive after exiting the body suggested that there could be a heaven. The closest Two had gotten was nearly dancing in the clouds before the rain, and then plummeting to the ground with the water. He remembered that. It felt like he had spread everywhere, thriving, but then suddenly migrated into a half destroyed body, resting inside a rubble filled drain pipe. Two immediately knew it was a blessing; he didn't really want to move on.

Even now, there were so many things that he had yet to do, and his life felt unfinished. He wanted to build more, he wanted to play more, he wanted to spend more time with One, with Five, with every one of the Stitchpunks; he couldn't imagine death. He felt an overwhelming sadness and fear mixed together, but suppressed it as he followed the others. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin their day thinking about death.

The twins had managed to climb up to an open window and slipped inside, Five struggling to keep up with them. He watched as the two stared at something on the wall and looked up to see an odd round bit of stretched fabric that was covered in designs that were stitched with numerous colored thread. The twins looked to each other and Three asked what Four thought it was. Four remembered it in a book and reminded her sister, so her sister was able to remember that it was considered needlework embroidery.

Four boosted up Three to climb up the small table beneath the embroidered work. while Five approached, "What is it?" He asked as he looked up at the item, and Four started to make hand gestures. Using stitching and moving motions with the arm Five managed to get the stitch part, the gesturing to his bag of needles meant a needle, and showing herself in a working motion, really showing herself mimicking hammering, triggered the full name. They looked up to Three who was trying to get the needlework off of a nail.

She lifted it and pulled it back, but the wall hanging was hard to balance because of its size. Because of this, it toppled back and fell to the floor beside Four and Five. Three also fell onto her back, but she was unharmed. "Three?" Five called up, "Are you okay?" She looked down and nodded before seeing her sister beginning to lift the object. Wanting to get down quick, she waved to Five, and motioned herself dropping.

"Three, I don't know. You could get hurt." Five insisted and decided instead to position himself under the smaller female, "Here, drop down and I'll catch you." She trusted him and lowered herself until she was dangling by her arms and only then dropped. As expected, the Healer caught her out of the air, holding her in his strong embrace before allowing her to return to her feet.

The two shared a brief moment of smiling at each other as Four's optics flickered in a bit of laughter. While she used to be jealous, she now found their romantic moments to be a bit comical, as they seemed so overly sweet. Five looked a bit embarrassed while Three gave her sister a very unimpressed look. The Healer and the twin Librarians soon took up the needlework and exited the building once again.

Two was immediately interested in the object and began to look it over, "Look at this stitching! How beautiful! The humans must have used these to decorate their homes." Seven looked at the design and at the clear pattern that formed a bird's nest. It was obvious that she liked birds, especially from her armor, and the art appealed to her. Five spoke up to Two, "They say it's stitched needlework."

"Yes." Two said with a smile, "Also known as 'cross stitching' or 'embroidery'." He looked at the beautiful bird's nest and looked to the words beneath it, stitched in, "Home…" He said softly. Two actually felt a bit choked up as he though back to his previous concerns and only now realized how much he loved his home, and his family. Five noticed his abrupt quietness, "Two? Is something wrong?" Hearing this, Seven also looked over in concern, but Two shook it away.

"My thoughts were just running about again." He said with a chuckle, "Perhaps we should take this back to the others. I'm sure they would love to see it."

* * *

Eight didn't realize that it could backfire until this second, and it was a horrible second. He suddenly realized that Six wasn't used to any contact with magnet as he had never had surgery before. So Six was feeling the brunt full force of nothing but magnetic bliss. He was laughing like a madman, giggling and bubbly, muttering soft comments that Eight was no longer paying attention to.

"I think you've had enough." Eight pointed out as he pulled the magnet out of the Artist's grasp. The striped one pitifully reached for it briefly before pulling back with another giggle, "But I want more." He insisted, "This feel really, really, _really _good! I want to do this all of the time! Instead of training, no more training, just magnet." He babbled on as he stood up and stumbled away towards the others. Eight immediately went to stop him, "You can't go over there. One will see you."

If One found out that Eight decided to give Six, who the Leader considered innocent and youthful, a magnet high, then One would probably come close to murdering him. Six wasn't concerned at all and just wandered right past him, "I'm not going near One, I'm going to the water. I'm going to stop my fear of water and go for a swim in the water." The Guard stared in confusion, "You're not scared of water."

"No," Six drawled out, "But I am scared of other things." He smiled a wide, amused smile before practically pushing past Eight. Eight suddenly realized that Six had used his telekinetic powers to move him without any indication other than a small twitch. In fact, he began moving other things around effortlessly. Branches bent out of his way, rocks hovered and jolted to other locations, and Six stumbled along in a swaying motion.

Eight was quick to follow him and Six, apparently realizing such, let out a crackle and began to run. "Chase me!" He commanded and Eight huffed, "Six, stop running and get back here! You're acting insane!" He hadn't meant to use that word and winced a bit. However, Six didn't seem to care in this state, and got to the stream before diving in. As the water was only knee deep, it wasn't much of a dive, and he soon was merely rolling around in the cold water.

Meanwhile, Nine was clearly getting distressed, "And why can't you keep teaching me?" Child rubbed his forehead, "Can I not have a few minutes of peace? I told you, we'll continue tomorrow." The zippered male watched as the other stood and started to wander off, "Now stop stalking me about like a Cat Beast." Nine decided to just leave the other male be as he was being quite stubborn. Instead, Nine decided to go talk with someone else, and that, unfortunately, meant One.

The Leader was calmly standing by the stream, looking out across the water, and Nine approached confidently. "What are you doing, One?" Slanted optics shifted to him before returning to the scenery, "Just admiring the forest. It is quite quaint here." Nine looked at the trees, "It is. Was the whole world like this?" One shook his head, "No. There were many forested areas, but much of the land in Luxembourg, from what I know, was not strictly of forests."

There was a pause before Nine spoke up, "Quiet day… Or afternoon isn't it?" The Leader nodded, "It is. Quite so." Then, suddenly, Nine blurted out, "Child won't teach me Luxembourgish." The older exhaled and the younger looked at the ground, "Why would he refuse to teach me? Sometimes I don't understand him. No, that's wrong; I meant I don't understand him at all."

"Nine," One started, "Perhaps you should speak to Five about this." He obviously did not want to hear Nine's complaints about Child and the younger looked down, "Right, sorry." One regained his calm compositor before speaking, "Child is tired from the walk and, as stubborn as he is, refuses to admit it and instead is deciding to keep distance." This seemed acceptable and Nine decided not to mention that One was similar in that way.

"I wonder when the others are going to get back." Nine mentioned and One nodded, "Perhaps soon. Then sun is clearly setting and it will be dark soon." Nine nodded and One continued, "It does concern me, Two's disregard for his health. I fear that- Is that Six?" His slanted optics suddenly narrowed on a striped figure literally rolling down the river. Nine also stared in confusion as One called out, "Six, what _are _you doing?"

"I'm rolling down the river!" Six announced, "And it feels like it's wonderful!" Then he suddenly stood and began to wade towards them, One and Nine could only watch as the striped one dashed up. "You got to try it!" The Artist blurted out, "It feels like drawing, in water, in bed, and with someone who you may be pressing your mouth together with." The other two just stared in confusion while Six suddenly froze up, "Wait… You're One."

"And you are intoxicated!" One accused, grasping Six's wrists, and watching the small Stitchpunk panic, "I wasn't supposed to be with you!" He accused back, just as Eight ran up with a look of dread. One immediately turned on him, "You gave him magnet!" He released Six who suddenly began to weep, muttering about the magnet poisoning him, as the Leader bellowed at Eight, "How could you give him that- that- that _repulsive _thing!?"

"He was asking and…" Eight tried to come with an excuse, "I thought, you know, a little wouldn't hurt him." The Leader growled, "A little would hurt him?! Look at him!" The emotional wreck know as Six looked up pitifully, "I just want to be normal again! Look at this!" He cried out as he gripped his head of yarn, "I do look like Raggedy Andy!" It didn't help the situation and One turned on Eight with a growl. "I hope you are proud of yourself!" He finished, surprisingly letting Eight go so he could address Six who was having a hard time controlling himself.

For a second, Nine realized why Child wanted to be alone.

* * *

**Mable: Yeah, I'm with Child on avoiding this situation all together. Poor Six, can't hold his magnet. ^-^ Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed, next chapter up tomorrow!**


	33. Chapter 33: The Misty Evening

**Mable: Here's chapter thirty-three! I don't have much to say… That's probably for the best. I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Thirty-Three: The Misty Evening_

The second Two returned One stormed before him while nearly carrying the completely dazed Six. The magnet was slowly starting to wear off and with it Two suggested that Six sit down. The male laughed a little more at random things before falling over and going right to sleep on the spot. One made sure not to leave Six's side as he no longer trusted Eight anywhere near the smaller male while the others investigated the embroidered art.

Soon, the sun descended, and evening took hold. With it came a layer of light fog that cooled the forest considerably. Child took this time, and inspiration from the cross stitch, to begin working on some clothing for himself to help when the sun returned. To keep the bright light off of his fragile white fabric and weakened dark metals. Unfortunately, the fabric they had found in the Emptiness and were using as a blanket was part of a Machine insignia banner.

If it wasn't obvious before that it was connected with the Machine, it certainly was now, as he had its own insignia ready to be resting right upon his back. Child never felt so disappointed in a piece of fabric and eventually decided to quit his sewing and take a break. Looking out past the stream, he could see Nine wandering somewhere, and was tempted to follow. It was only natural that he wanted to finish what he had started with Nine.

He had turned him down earlier, but was sure he wanted to continue now, teaching Luxembourgish. Child did enjoy the pastime and decided now that it probably was more suspicious refusing to do so. Wandering over the damp moss, he followed Nine, but soon stopped as he noticed the male wasn't alone.

Nine approached Seven with a smile, "How was the town?" The Warrior looked back in surprise to see him and smiled as well, "Still standing. Though it wasn't standing very well. Maybe we'll go back tomorrow." Nine perked, "Could I come?" She nodded kindly, "Of course." Then, the zippered one grew a bit shy, and looked down for a second before adding in, "It's a nice night." She agreed, mentioning that it was breathtaking, but Nine found himself staring at her more than the trees.

Four had been watching the scene before a flash of red alerted her to another nearby. Crossing over, she could see it was Child, and he was obviously not pleased. His hands clenched oddly and his body seemed to twitch, as though he was about to explode, and by the way his eyes glowed crimson the twin suspected that he would. She approached with a quizzical look and Child abruptly fixed himself. His eyes died into their normal color and he managed to suppress his anger.

"Four… Good evening." He greeted as though nothing was wrong. She knew better and gave a look that showed it. Instead, he questioned her, "Where's your twin?" She projected an image of the number '5'. This made enough sense and Child looked towards the two. "I know what you are thinking… That I am disturbed because I am jealous. Actually, no, I believe these two attempting to be romantic is a terrible mistake, because both will slack in their other promises."

Four was obviously confused and Child tried something else, "Have you noticed how much of Three and Five's time are mostly spent together? This is fine. However, Nine and Seven have been attempting some sort of… Most pitiful excuse for courting I have ever witnessed, for long enough that once it comes to be, it may trigger it being stronger." It made absolutely no sense, even Child knew it, and so he finally spoke up.

"Nine will stop learning Luxembourgish, Seven will no longer be the Warrior, and their lives will be revolved only on each other." Child knew this wasn't completely true, but he needed another on his side, even if that meant that he needed to use manipulation tactics. As expected, Four was horrified, and did believe Child who managed to further his silver tongue, "We need to keep them focused on the fact that they have other obligations. Such as Nine's lessons, which he is ignoring to be with Seven."

This only seemed to prove it and Four listened further as the older male began to put together plans. That's when he noticed that Nine was gesturing to a nearby rock by a small rivet of stream that pulled away from the rest. It just happened to be under a ray of the light, perhaps how he noticed it, and looked quite romantic. Nine sat down on the rock before brushing the dried leaves off of the side that he had for Seven who smiled at the gesture and sat down alongside him.

"Every time I see the water I think about the Life Giving rain." Seven murmured as she stared as the crystal clear water, "Even now, it seems to feed the world." She shrugged a bit and looked down almost sheepishly, "I guess that's what water is meant for." Nine nodded, "Yeah…. Maybe parts of the Life Giving Rain are still circulating today." Neither noticed the two wandering up behind.

Child watched cautiously as he looked down at his plan to stop the disturbing display; Pet. Pet would separate the two, Child would sweep in and quote Luxembourgish, and Seven wouldn't be touched by Nine. With a small mischievous smile, Child looked to Four, "Consider our issue dealt with." Then he spoke to Pet, "Go to Nine, Pet, bring him back." The small spider Beast immediately did so, unable to understand why his master asked for something.

He scrambled over and climbed up into Nine's lap in an attempt to catch his attention. Instead, Nine sort of brushed it off, petting Pet's top before turning back to Seven. "How big was the town?" Pet actually showed a little impatience as Seven answered, "Much smaller than Paris. It was still nice. Tomorrow, I'll show you." Pet began to scratch on Nine's thighs to get his attention, but didn't succeed, as Nine gently patted his head and continued.

"Where did you get that…?" Seven finished, "The embroidery? Three, Four, and Five found it in a building. A human must have made it." Before Nine could answer again, he suddenly felt a tug on his zipper pull. The small spider beast actually bit, with its hidden mouth, onto Nine's zipper and began to tug at it. In a struggle to keep himself closed in front of Seven, Nine crashed to the ground, and landed upon Pet who let out a shriek and scurried off.

Seven leaned over and looked down at the male, "Are you okay?" Nine immediately tried to hide his embarrassment as he fixed his zipper pull and stood. "I'm good." He smiled shyly as she softly giggled a bit. Four watched Pet scurried by and saw what looked like an explosion of redness across the trees. Apparently Child wasn't pleased with the scene, his optics clearly gave it away, and even Pet wasn't willing to go near.

The Librarian tilted her head in confusion and he huffed, "They are very stubborn." His optics, again, returned to normal and he thought of something else. To his surprise, Four was the one to come up with the next movement. She noticed that Nine and Seven were standing and gestured to follow them. Child did, though he suddenly realized how childish he was acting. Four was a young female, it was obvious that she should be doing these sorts of things because of age, but he was a young adult, he should've known better.

Now that he thought about it, he wasn't even sure why Nine and Seven's relationship annoyed him so much. It just made him uncomfortable. The female Warrior, lovely and graceful, and the perfect example of a female; with Nine, who could be described in only that single word. Nine was too naïve to be with Seven. As such, Child would much prefer if Seven was out, flying free as a bird, while Nine was simply by his side learning Luxembourgish.

Nine and Seven were seemingly lost in the night. They passed Five and Three as one point, but merely waved and continued on, as the two were spending time together. Oddly enough, the two were using small twigs to weave little wreaths, and Child was certainly stopped by the bizarre crafting. He approached with scrutiny, "What… Exactly are you doing?" Five looked up with a small smile, "Us? We're sort of making… wreaths."

"I know that." Child said, overlooking the work, "I meant, why?" Five shrugged, "Just gives us something to bring home. They're easy to make if you'd like to make one too." Child looked at his and Three's. They were strikingly different. Five was thicker, completely round, and if looked like thicker twigs were able to be bent. Three's was quite thin with smaller twigs and not shaped completely round, but she was decorating it was a variety of small flowers that she weaved in as well.

Suddenly, Child perked, "Where did you find the twigs?" The Healer gestured back to the bush behind them, "Under the bush. They've collected from storms and stuff." The pale male was soon under the bush retrieving twigs as Four watched curiously. When her sister asked what was going on; Four could only shrug as she wasn't really sure anymore. Child quickly weaved together a wreath, much faster than Five of Three, and taking little care in what it looked like.

He was soon done and headed after Nine and Seven. They were still wandering about, talking, optics constantly locking on each other, and Child followed behind. "This, Four, will work. You see, two different tactics work the best. Something horrifying to take them aback or something so confusing that it cannot be ignored. We are choosing the latter route." Then, randomly, he tossed the wreath towards Nine. Instead of going over Nine's head, it merely hit him in the back of the head.

Nine released a cry of pain and annoyance as Four looked over at Child. From the look on his face he had not been aiming to virtually attack the male and slid behind the nearest tree, muttering, "_Damn." _To himself as Four watched Nine and Seven attempt to piece together what happened. "What is this?" Nine asked in confusion as he picked up the wreath and Seven looked around for where it came from.

To Four's surprise, it did technically work, as Nine and Seven were no longer focused on each other. However, she was unsure this would last for long. It didn't either; Seven soon made her own assumption, "It looks like a bad prank." The male was confused and she explained, "A stunt that usually annoys the victim while the prankster finds it funny." Nine huffed, "It was probably Child."

Child was not amused by the accusation, even though he had done it, and was beginning to grow frustrated again. Finally, Four decided to step in. Child watched as she clearly walked over to the two while he stayed out of sight; not wanting to give any indication that he was involved. Four picked up the wreath and looked apologetically to Nine. "You threw it?" He asked and she nodded, before gesturing how she would do so, and then looking depressed about it.

She then, abruptly, turned to Seven with a questioning look. "You want me to teach you how to throw this?" Four nodded and Child winced at how easy it had been for the female to break the two up. Seven agreed, said a quick goodbye to Nine, and followed Four away. Nine did look a bit discouraged, but Child was more than pleased. He even felt a satisfied grin stretching across his face when he finally decided to outright approach the other.

He suavely decided to remind Nine of their prior engagement with his greeting, "_Gudden Owend, _Nine." He greeted and the zippered male looked over, "What?" The mentor continued, "It means; Good Evening." Nine perked, "Oh, okay! Does that mean you're going to teach me now? I have nothing better to do." Child slightly scowled at the half thrown comment, but managed to regain compositor, "Of course. Let us begin."

After all, he did get what he wanted, and that was good enough for him.

* * *

Eight was alerted to Six awaking from the male groaning. He looked over, "Six?" The small Stitchpunk pulled himself off of the ground, "What happened?" He asked groggily and Eight actually looked amused, "You tried some magnet and lost it." The striped one blinked, "I… Lost the magnet?" Eight actually began to laugh; now that Six was sober, the thought of what happened before was hilarious, "You lost your mind!"

If Six could've, he would've gone pale, "What did I do?" He asked fearfully and the Guard was more than willing to explain. "You were laughing constantly. Then you ran into the water and started to roll around, before you ran towards One…" He paused as he heard Six mutter, "Not One…" The Artist covered his face in shame as Eight finished. "You started trying to talk with him and he realized you were high. Yelled at me and put you to bed."

Six groaned as he rubbed his throbbing head, "I can't believe I did that. Everyone's going to know." Eight shrugged a bit, "Why did you do it? Because I asked?" Six pulled his hands down and contemplated it as he stared at the ground, "Well… No. Maybe a little, but I did it because I… I guess I wanted to know what it was like." The larger male nodded at this, "Makes sense." However, the smaller didn't look nearly as pleased, "I should have known better." He accused himself.

"You had to try it at least once before you decided to hate it." Eight reminded him, "Not like the others. They won't touch the thing; just immediately say it's bad." Six was still certain, "It's bad." Eight smirked a little, "Yeah, you should probably stay off of the magnet. You get a little wild." Six felt his face feel warm as Eight decided to voice, "Don't worry about One, he blames me for everything. He thinks I forced you to do it."

Six looked sympathetic, but honestly felt a little relieved, "I'm sorry." He stood and approached the Guard, stumbling from his aching head, and dropped beside him. He fell against the over and cuddled against him, letting his mismatched optics close. Eight didn't say it to Six, but it was worth One's anger. Perhaps Six in the aftereffects were better than his actually magnet high.

* * *

One stared through the fog that danced above the softly flowing river. It was beautiful. Then he looked over to the only other Stitchpunk in the vicinity, Two, who was eyeing the needlework he had found earlier. One found himself thinking the same thing; beautiful. He was beautiful, especially the way he was slightly tilted forward enough that he was bathed in the pure light that made it through the trees and the fog.

The Leader began to approach from behind until his chest pressed to Two's back. The smaller Inventor jumped a bit before looking over his shoulder, where One immediately moved in to rest his arms around the smaller figure. Two smiled at the warm display of emotion. "I was getting a bit chilled." One pulled his cape over to drape it across both of them. The cloth was inviting. It actually smelled of One's scent, recognizable and enjoyed.

He could feel lips brushing his audio receptor and spoke up, "We're alone, One." One answered quickly, "I am very aware." The soft pecks continued until the smaller pulled away, starting to walk towards the edge of the large boulders surrounding the camp, and beckoning One after him. One immediately followed without refusal or concern. Two even began to run, almost as though he was playing with One, who quickened his pace to follow.

Soon Two stopped in a secluded are between a large tree and the stream. The moss was thick and lush when Two dropped down upon it in an inviting motion. One soon was atop him, leaning close so that their mouths could touch, claiming Two as his own. The Stitchpunk was his and his alone. His mate, his world, his to touch, and him to care for, and for him to love. He caressed every bit of fabric he possibly could on his mate's frame.

When his hands moved to Two's sides, the male knew what was coming, and could only look up in admiration. When One looked to him, he nodded, and One knew he was ready for him. The Leader leaned down and gave his mate another kiss as he began to untie the other's front. It was a slow effort meant to show as much love as possible. Soon the ties were pulled out and Two was opened so that One could address his insides. He looked deep inside Two's being.

Then he abruptly gasped and recoiled in alarm. Two blinked in confusion and sat up enough so he could look down. There, in his belly, was a small light. At first he thought it was part of his soul coming out, as he was soon wanting to soul bond, but instead he realized it clearly couldn't be his own soul. It seemed suspended right before the small place where Two had been connected to the Talisman at birth.

"Dear Creator," One gasped, "It's a soul!" This seemed to take whatever Two was going to say out of his mouth. He could only stare at the small light, the unfamiliar soul, and suddenly gasped, "One… I think I'm…" He didn't even know how to say it, but One knew completely what he meant, "It is not possible." He denied, falling back in an almost fearful matter, "We are both males. It is _not _possible."

"It's a child." Two said softly, "We… We created a soul. It's a little… A little soul- a Stitchpunk- Creator." He slowly reached in, almost scared to do so, and brushed the light. His fingers went straight through it without bothering it at all. It acted almost sentient as it almost moved a bit as he passed through it. There was no denying that it was a soul, but neither Two's nor One's.

Then Two realized that this was why he had been tired. It wasn't age, he was going to have a child, and with that he suddenly broke down. He grasped his head and felt his breath quickening. For a few seconds, he could only feel disbelief, because it couldn't be possible, but he also felt a growing joy. One couldn't distinguish whether it was fear or sadness, happiness or dread, and came to Two's side, cautiously putting his arms around his mate.

He didn't was to admit it, but he was terrified.

* * *

**Mable: Because Six rolling down the river wasn't odd enough. ^-^ Next chapter update is tomorrow, I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	34. Chapter 34: The Future Bundle

**Mable: Chapter Thirty-Four, the final in another story arch, and so on and so forth. It was a little rushed, but I hope it is still enjoyed. I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Thirty-Four: The Future Bundle_

Five had built a fire by time One and Two returned to the camp. They were both feeling a little awkward and decided to not tell anyone of what they had figured out yet. Two especially felt uncomfortable knowing that he had a precious, possibly in risk, soul that he was unable to protect completely. He could cover his belly with his hands, but it didn't help him feel any safer. He was carrying a new life and there was nothing he could do to help it any more than he had by assisting in giving it life.

"Where have you two been?" Seven asked from her kneeled position by the fire. She was poking at it with another small twig before tossing it in as well, it snapping as it was engulfed by the flames. She was asking innocently and yet One immediately was defensive and obvious with such, "Nowhere. Simply wandering about. Nothing more." It sounded clearly guilty, but Two decided not to intervene, less he make it worse with his own stuttering.

Thankfully, Seven only gave him a confused look and returned to the fire again. The others looked relatively content with the night and none as interested as she had been. Five and Three were assisting Four on making a wreath of her own, Eight was sitting and guarding nearby, Six was asleep again, leaning against Eight's side, and Child was still teaching Nine Luxembourgish phrases.

The zippered Stitchpunk looked up when Two began to sit down at the opposite side of the fire to warm himself, "Oh, hey Two! …_Gutt Nuecht." _He pronounced slowly before looking to the white male. Child nodded afterwards, "Yes, you're correct." Nine beamed from the satisfaction of knowing he was learning the words like he was supposed to. Child also seemed a bit pleased about the progress he was making.

One, however, suddenly cleared his throat as he still stood there, "Unfortunately, we will be leaving tomorrow and returning to the Sanctuary." This immediately caught the others' attention and they didn't seem too pleased about the sudden revelation. Most were genuinely shocked by the random news being presented. "Leaving?" Five asked in alarm, "But… Why?" One waved his hand in dismissal, "It does not matter why. We must leave."

Two knew this was only going to cause a commotion and exhaled calmly, "One, we should tell them what exactly is occurring."

"You're not well." Seven suddenly and softly accused Two who couldn't say he wasn't surprised by the assumption. The Inventor's optics dropped to the fire, "…I am…In a way." The way that the two were acting was obviously distressing the others; especially since even Two seemed concerned with this new arrangement and possible illness. Surprisingly, nobody else persisted with wanting to know. In fact, most of the others seemed too hesitant to ask of more details, and instead quietly lingered about with the concern etched on their face.

Two felt poorly from not telling them the truth, but didn't feel that it was the right moment to blurt out the truth. He could just merely rest a hand on his abdomen, making it appear like nothing, and press in until he felt the quick beats of the baby's soul. When he felt it this time, though, he noticed that now the joy had solely returned to his being. He began to think back on all that he had learned about human children, human babies, and was enjoying what he could remember.

A small, loving creature that would be a mixture of himself and One; it seemed remarkably amazing. He began to very much enjoy the prospect of parenthood that was before him. Teaching the baby to walk, to talk, maybe even to try carpenter work as he himself did, raising him up to ascend to the throne, and having a full future to look forward to. Yesterday he imagined that he was going to die, yet today he knew he had much time left and was even providing another with life.

Though Two didn't decide to finally tell One of his change of heart and new confidence until the next day. They were walking back towards home, barely making any progress with the frequent stops One made them take, and Two approached the Leader who was taking the front. He spoke quietly so that the others wouldn't hear them speaking. "One…" He started, "Have you thought about the… The baby?" The leader seemed to go stiff at this, "Yes… The soul."

"It's a baby." Two briefly argued before continuing, "I… Well… I've been thinking about it for quite some time now and I think that this is going to be a good thing." One was very skeptical at this and didn't answer right away. When he did, he still seemed torn about the arrangement, "Two, we have brought a child into the world that we spent absolutely no time thinking of." He pointed out and the Inventor looked away, "I know that, One."

"We won't be able to give him a good life, Two." The Leader insisted and the Inventor retorted abruptly, "I think we have a good life, One. We have family, we have a home, and that's all we need for a child to be content. We could supply anything he needed." Still, One was obsessively attempting to prove Two wrong. "The Beasts, Two. How can we raise an infant in the Emptiness, with the Beasts and Machine? Creator forbid, we bring it into the world only to have it taken back out-."

"Stop it." Two suddenly commanded, stopping in his tracks, and One fell silent in shock, "I want you to stop doing this right now. I know you feel the need to be pessimistic, but, honestly, there's no reason to be. The baby is already with us and there is no turning back." Then he suddenly looked away from the leader, "If… If you want me to raise the child alone, then I will. However, I cannot enter this with the mindset that something will go wrong. That's no way to raise a baby. That's no way to raise our son."

One caught the added fact that Two abruptly provided and became interested. "Son?" Two shrugged slightly and explained, "I have a feeling that it is male. I am not sure whether this is true or not, but I'm thinking of continuing on with this thought." Maybe it was giving the baby a gender, but One seemed to suddenly be a lot more curious, and a lot less pessimistic. Two chuckled a bit, "Think of it, One. When you finally decide that you no longer want to be leader, we'll have a child to pass the role onto."

Instead of snapping about how he wasn't near time to leave his throne, One actually seemed to contemplate this a bit. Then, finally, admitted, "We certainly are capable of raising a child. We raised the others fine enough and they are all stubborn adolescents." Two smiled once again, "I'm assuming we'll have to make a body when we arrive at home. Let the soul bond with it before we can actually hold our baby."

The words 'our baby' sent the oddest spike of pleasure up his back. He suddenly felt giddy and pleased with the prospect of having their own child. One seemed to be as well from the way he suddenly felt the need to rest a hand upon his mate's back. He stoked over his number in gentle strokes as Two sent him a smile, "We'll tell the others when we get home. I'm sure they'll be just as pleased to hear about the baby."

However, by time they arrived at home days later, One suddenly decided something on his own. "You see," One insisted as they entered their bedroom after Two who promptly crawled onto the bed and lay across it. The walking, added with the strain of nursing a soul, had left Two exhausted, so One was sure he would be willing to do anything. "I was the one to tell the others of our relationship and our vows. As such, you will be the one to tell them that they will be sharing their home with a baby."

Two nodded tiredly and One continued, "Also, make them aware that this is not a normal Stitchpunk. This will be their leader and will be treated as such. They will also-." Seeing that Two was now clearly not paying attention, One stood, "I'll do it myself." He exited the room once again. Without Two even paying the slightest bit of attention to him as he left. The others were still in the throne room trying to adjust to arriving home again.

"There is something that must be discussed." One abruptly announced to the group who all looked immediately disturbed. Since Two said he was sick, none of have them had been told exactly what had happened, and were all obviously concerned about how the Inventor was doing. One took his time to sit down on his throne before he was suddenly joined. Apparently Two had forced himself off of the bed and staggered into the throne room to join his mate. He rested against the armrest tiredly.

"There is to be another Stitchpunk living with us." One abruptly announced and it seemed seconds later that Six was standing before him, "You found…?" He cut off as he noticed One's negative look and retracted, "There's… There's someone else?" Two decided to enlighten the Artist a bit more. "There is _going to be _someone else. Quite soon, in fact. However, we are telling you all because he is not going to be like us."

"What does that mean?" Eight muttered from his spot beside the throne. He sounded suspicious and was strangely eyeing Child who gave the most perplexed look in return. One huffed, "Let Two finish." He commanded and the Inventor gave him a small, tired look before looking towards the others around them. "This Stitchpunk isn't going to be like us. It won't understand the same things that you understand. It's going to be a baby."

A few of the Stitchpunks recognized the word, but that didn't change the confusion. "Baby?" Seven asked, "But, wait, we're not born as babies. We're born as adult." One spoke up, "Few of us are adults." Now that he had attempted to put her in her place, he continued, "However, it will be a baby, a small Stitchpunk, which means that we will have to watch our behavior a bit more carefully."

He stood and paced a bit, "As such, you all will have to learn how to live quieter and keep less stress around him. You all will also have to pay attention to the baby. If he cries, he will not go ignored." Seven huffed, "One, if we can listen to you screaming, we can listen to a baby." Two chuckled a bit and One gave an annoyed glare to the Warrior, "Yes, thank you for your input."

Nine, however, was still confused, "So where is this… Baby coming from?" Two lit up, "Actually, I have the baby's soul inside of me now. Soon it will be implanted in a body and be a Stitchpunk, very small, incredibly fragile, and will not understand much speech yet. Because of this, he won't be able to speak until he learns, nor will he be able to walk until he learns. What One was saying was that we will need everyone's assistance in watching him. As he could easily be in danger."

As soon as he finished, Five suddenly blurted, "You're having a baby?!" The others decided not to question why he asked now when it was so clear. He seemed to overcome the question and crossed over to Two's side, "Two that's-that's great!" Five did know a little about babies, human babies, but knew mostly that this meant One and Two were creating a Stitchpunk. He gave the Inventor a friendly hug and his mentor was relieved that his apprentice was taking it so well.

Nine's stitched brows furrowed, "I'm… Still a little confused." However, nobody was willing to explain how the baby was actually created, and instead went forward to congratulate the parents. After seeing that even Child was participating, Nine joined in to give his own support. Two turned to Five, "We'll have to hurry and finish the new bedroom and baby's room quickly. Do you think you could assist me further?" Naturally, Five smiled, "Of course, Two, anything."

"Then it is settled." One voiced in finishing, seemingly relieved, and turning to Two. Everything had went quite well so they assumed this meant positive things in the near future. Soon after, Two dismissed himself from the throne room and headed back to his bedroom for a rest. He entered inside and immediately blew out the candle that his mate had lit earlier. He then walked over to the bed and lay down once again. His hands rubbed over his front as he imagined what their baby would be like.

It wasn't much longer when One also entered the room and moved over to the bed. He actually seemed pleased, actually had a smile as he moved to rest on the bed beside his mate. He moved his arms around the smaller male and let one of his hands rest onto his front. Petting in circles over it, One moved like he was glad, as though he was thrilled about the prospect of having a baby.

Two took this time to speak up, "Perhaps we should think of names?" One contemplated this a bit, "I suppose a number, of course. Addition would only equal Three, so perhaps we should put our numbers together in a different way, such as Twelve or Twenty-One." Two seemed to perk, "Twenty-One… I like that number. It has both the 'Two' and the 'One' in it. Almost like our 'little One'."

One seemed to enjoy this. "Twenty-One it is, then. Suiting for a future leader; suiting or our child." Two leaned closed and tucked his head under One's chin as he began to drift off to sleep. Filled with ideas and images of the future.

Nine didn't awaken when Five climbed out of bed and headed towards the hallway. This was good for the one eyed one, as he wanted to be alone for the present. During the time that Two announced the baby, Five had been thrilled, thinking of the possibilities. However, now he wasn't nearly as pleased, because something new was bothering him, prodding at his mind vigorously until he was forced to haunt the halls.

He made his way past the throne room and into the unfinished edition. Even though a bit tired, he needed to do something, and decided to work. After a few minutes he began to go back to nearly carving a doorway into the open space that would soon be One and Two's new bedroom. He was working for about twenty minutes until someone appeared at the doorway. "What are you doing up?" Five looked back to see Eight and smiled a little bit, "Just… Just working."

"It's about the baby, isn't it?" The Guard suddenly confused, "That's why you're working in the middle of the night." The Healer stared at him quietly, unsure how the other deduced it so quickly. He looked away pitifully, "Maybe a little." He went defensive, "I'm not mad about the baby, I'm happy, I just…. I don't know. It's a bit of a change." Then he questioned, "How could you tell?" Eight looked a bit amused, "What do you think I'm doing up in the middle of the night?"

Five smiled at this and looked at his work again, continuing to address it, "Really, I am glad there's a baby… Honestly, though, I'm going to miss the time I spend working with Two." He knew that the baby would need time and attention, which Two wouldn't be able to work with him as much, and it was a bit saddening. He noticed that Eight didn't answer and looked over to see the Guard was staring at the wall with an unreadable look.

"That's what I'm worried about." Five admitted, "What about you?" Eight looked back, "Not really worried about anything. I just don't like change that much." The buttoned front was a bit unsure about this excuse and instead made a small suggestion, "That's good… I thought you'd be afraid that One wouldn't need you as much for communication since he'd have the baby. That's not true, though. One wouldn't replace you with the baby. He couldn't."

"I know that." Eight didn't sound too convinced, but finally looked to Five, "Not like Two's going to be able to do with the baby what he does with you. Working and all." Five shrugged, "Maybe." However, the Guard was insistent, "Five, he said it wouldn't even be walking when he's born. How could it build?" This did make sense and Five gave him a small, sheepish smile, "I guess I didn't think of that… Maybe I'm overreacting."

"Both of us." Eight muttered as he entered the open space, "You heading to your room?" Five shrugged a bit, "I… No, not yet." He smiled reassuringly, "The room needs to get finished before the baby comes anyway." The Guard didn't look tired and so he offered, "Want to help?" The Guard shrugged and came forward to do so. Maybe they were still a little unsure, but at least they felt better, and a little more reassured.

Maybe this baby wouldn't be too bad after all.

* * *

**Mable: Everyone loves babies, even when they're concerned about losing their parental figures. ^-^ By the way; **_Gutt Nuecht _**means 'Good Night'. The next arch shall begin next Friday and will be a bit longer than this one. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	35. Chapter 35: The Small Spark

**Mable: So the new arch begins! A bit rushed, but I managed to put it together in time, so that is good. I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Thirty-Five: The Small Spark_

A few days had passed and the edition was nearly finished. The bed was being taken apart and moved into the new bedroom presently. Eight lugged it over into the other room and helped Five and Two set it up. The small bedroom beside the larger chambers was to be the baby's room and Six took the time to cover the walls in large pieces of paper covered in numerous designs to give the baby something to look at on the walls. They were only in black and white, but the scenes were pleasant, trees and flowers.

One allowed Child to overtake his old bedroom and the Stitchpunk gladly moved out of the Workshop. Unfortunately, all he had for a bed was a makeshift one of blankets he made on the floor, but it was good enough. He even made a small bed in the corner for Pet who was pleased with his new bed. However, soon Two and One decided it was time to work on the baby's body and to find more things to decorate the small room.

Seven was the one who mentioned the house, "It's two floors and in good condition. We could probably find something there." It had been something she passed when she was out scouting and was certain about. Two was curious and One was skeptic, but soon the entire group left the Library and headed out towards the building. It was near a large group of destroyed homes, so it was a shock that it still stood, completely intact.

Of course, a few windows were broken out, but that wasn't bad enough to turn the Stitchpunks away. They entered cautiously into the main hall as they took in their surrounds. "Look at this!" Two said with a wide smile, "All these pictures, still intact! A family must have lived here." Looking at more pictures he also saw another clear indication; a baby's photo. It was in black and white and a bit dim, but it interested him nonetheless. He approached it with Five following behind curiously.

"How precious." Two murmured as he stared at the picture depicting a small infant. He assumed it was a girl, because her clothes were decorated in ribbons, and it appeared that she was wearing a small dress. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with emotion as he realized that this was what he was also going to have, and he doubled over in a fit of sobbing. Naturally, Five was horrified, "Two?! What's wrong?" He rested a hand on his mentor's shoulder in concern.

To even more shock, Two abruptly stopped crying and began to laugh like it was nothing. "Just a bit emotional, Five. Nothing more." He then began to speak like nothing had even happened; prompting Five to glance back at One who gave him a look signaling that it wasn't an issue. What Five didn't realize was that Two's moods had been changing rapidly all morning and that fits of crying were the last thing that was worrying One.

"If there was a baby then there is a good chance that there is a nursery. Perhaps we can find some things that we can take home with us." Five agreed with this and followed him to the stairs, as the Inventor added in that the nursery was usually near the master bedroom and that the master bedroom was typically on the second floor. One decided to follow them as well, but Eight didn't. He decided to follow Six who was walking around curiously.

It wasn't too long until he found something that interested him. In a small out cove of a room was set up a painting easel, before it a small table with a dried bouquet that was being painted, and Six approached curiously. "They painted too…" He murmured as he managed to climb up onto the stool. Eight wasn't sure what he was so interested in, but did call up with a quick, "Careful up there."

Six soon found what he wanted on another little table beside the easel. Little bottles were lined up together and he opened one to see what he desired. It was a thick liquid, brightly colored, and obviously oil paints. He was surprised that it hadn't dried out and instead seemed to be in pretty decent shape other than being a little thick. There were only four bottles; red, blue, yellow, and white.

He could tell by the old palette covered with dry paint, and he surprisingly did know what a palette was, that the four colors were used to make other colors. Technically, these four would be all he needed, and he wasn't even sure that he needed a paint brush. Either way, he did manage to find a small row of them. Most of them looked to have dry paint on them and were partially unusable. He took the smallest up and looked it over.

"Six?" Eight called again, obviously not liking Six being out of sight without knowing if he was alright. The Artist picked up the bottle of white paint and headed to the side. "Can you carry something for me, please?" He asked before abruptly dropping the small bottle. It wasn't glass, so it wouldn't have broken, but Eight still managed to catch it. He called back up, "Yeah, but you could give me a little warning before dropping things on my head."

He didn't sound annoyed, more amused, but Six still felt the need to apologize with a quick, "Sorry." Before dropping yet another bottle down upon the guard who managed to grab ahold of it. Soon, Six dropped down all four and grabbed the paintbrush before climbing down, "Look!" He exclaimed happily, "I found paint, real paint! Now I can try to make pictures like the ones we saw in Paris."

"There's only four colors?" Eight asked in confusion, becoming almost offended that they only found this much, "Who paints with white? The paper is white." Six actually felt a little amused and nearly laughed at the comment, "The white's used to make more colors. Like pink." This definitely made Eight looked confused and Six knew why, "Not that I'd use a lot a pink." Eight looked amused now, "You never told me much about what colors you liked. I always knew you were hiding something."

"No, I don't like pink." Six insisted, taking the white bottle with a smile, "I like blue. Dark blue." Eight obviously liked taunting Six, though, "I saw the way you said 'like pink'; you've been waiting for this moment your entire life. The moment you'd actually get ahold of something pink. Everyone thinks I'm stuck on that," He gestured back to the magnet, "But you're the one hiding some sort of secret obsession with a color that just happens to be liked by Three and Four."

Six knew what he was insinuated and playfully huffed as he opened the bottle of white paint, "I just meant you can only get pink with white and red." Eight smirked and prodded a bit more, "The same color that two little girls like. You know-." He was quieted the second some small cold drips hit his face. It took him a second to realize that Six had dipped his fingers into the white paint and gently flicked it across Eight's face.

The Guard didn't know how to react, but Six did. He was comfortable enough with Eight now that, upon seeing his face, he burst out laughing. Eight immediately wanted retaliation and popped open the bottle of blue, "Fine, you like blue so much," He repeated the action that Six had committed, purposely flinging more that the smaller had. A large drop of blue went right onto Six's left optic and the male wiped it off with his arm while Eight chuckled.

Six retorted with a handful of white paint that he threw right into Eight's face. Eight gave him this weird look and suddenly Six knew this wouldn't be the end. He prepared himself with another handful of white as Eight lifted the blue bottle above his head.

* * *

As predicted, Two was right. There was a small nursery upstairs in the house. It was decorated in pale pinks and yellows, very appealing, and yet Two was a bit skeptic to enter. Five wasn't sure why, but One knew and crossed the room to check the crib. "It is empty." He explained and Two exhaled in relief before beginning to investigate the room. He was soon drawn to the soft blankets peeking from the crib, "Five, please cut some of this cloth free."

The Healer did as told and began to cut the fabric in a large piece. One assisted him in gathering the fabric while Two began to search the room for anything else. His eyes landed on a stuffed bear resting on a nearby chair. He immediately got an idea and put his mind to a determined state. He was certain, when he arrived home, that he'd make a stuffed bear for his son. Five managed to gather the cloth, "I'll move this outside." He pointed out and hurried out of the room to do so.

One approached Two and looked at the playthings that he was viewing. "Do we have enough fabric for the body?" Two nodded, not looking over, "Of course. We had that before we came. This trip was mostly for things that he would need comfort wise." He smiled and rubbed his abdomen a little before resting a hand on a nearby wooden block, each side having a little carved upon it. "Perhaps I could make him a few of these. Though smaller."

"I would hope so." One abruptly spoke, though Two recognized the playfully comment before chuckling himself. "Actually," He added, "I was thinking of, perhaps, a vest." He touched his own with a smile and made a small suggestion, "Perhaps red?" One seemed pleased at this, "Yes. He would look regal." With that, Two corrected with a smile. "He _will _look regal. Just as soon as he joins us." Once again, the two were pleased, and basked in the thoughts.

Meanwhile, in the hall, Seven had spotted another set of stairs and headed straight towards them. She felt no need to tell Nine and Child who were nearby as they were too busy with each other. Child was still mentoring Nine in Luxembourgish so the two were focused on the present lesson instead of on her, while heading in the direction of what looked like a bedroom. She continued along towards the stairs.

Seven was soon alerted to the sounds of footsteps behind her and smiled a little before speaking. "There didn't look to be a third floor, so I am guessing that the stairs lead into the attic. It may be dangerous. There could be beasts nesting." She wasn't too sure about this, but preferred to keep the two safe who she now looked back upon. The twins still looked curious, smiling in reassurance, and still continued on behind her.

"Wait down here, girls, and I'll come back once I make sure it is safe." She explained to the twins who now looked taken aback. They looked at each other in alarm as though they couldn't believe she was insisting that they stayed down here. She decided to leave them be and began to head towards the steps again, without fear. Walking along the sloping boarder, she headed up into the darkness of the attic, and was met with what she expected.

Dusty, worn, and only lit by a single cracked window; the attic was both dismal and had a slight charm to it. Seven's optics slid across the room and took in the stacks of old boxes and old furniture covered in white sheets. Something was partially uncovered on a table that she was drawn to, though, that looked like a birdcage. She was drawn to it and crossed the room to see it clearer.

It was obvious that Seven very much enjoyed birds, but there was something birdcages that seemed to be so inviting. She touched over the bars and imagined what bird could've been kept inside before it had been left to spend the rest of its days in the attic, unused and unneeded. It was both tragic and not so at the same time. Spending one's life trapped forever while also being able to enjoy the comfort of a safe life.

She had fled her own birdcage, the Cathedral, years ago to become what she was today. However, she occasionally wondered what it would've been like if she would've stayed. She was covered in scars, faced horrors beyond what she had ever expected, and yet never found true freedom. One wasn't the only think that kept Seven grounded. She soon found that she, too, kept herself trapped. There was nowhere to fly away to and no one to seek sanctuary in.

Less a Cat's claws clipped her wings. The thought of such made her shiver. That Cat Beast still haunted her. It had followed her, hunted her, for years before its defeat. Though it didn't stay dead and now could still be out there, hunting her, waiting for her to attempt to flee her cage again so that it could pounce upon her and tear into her fabric with its sharp claws. Birds were always prey to Cats in the past and it would remain that way.

Seven was the only one who was seemingly distressed about the current situation of searching the home. Most of the others had found things they needed and were slowly moving them outside. Such as, Five finally moved the cloth outside where he found Six and Eight, only to stare in confusion. They seemed to have brought a few bottles out, but that wasn't nearly the confusing part. Eight and Six were splotched with random colors.

Eight was covered in a mix of white and red spots of what looked like paint. If he was covered, Six was drenched, soaked in blue. His yarn hair was nearly completely dyed from the paint and there were clear rivets where it had ran down the rest of his body. Both looked well humored so Five decided to ask, "What happened?" Six answered with an innocent smile, "We found some paint… We had a little accident."

It didn't really look like an accident, but Five wasn't going to ask. Especially when he noticed white paint smeared across Six's lips when the only one who had white paint on was Eight. Curiously, he also has some on his mouth, and Five pointedly decided not to address it. Instead, he laid the cloth down beside the bottles. He could now see the small designs on the blanket. It was all white, very soft, and covered in shapes of pale colors.

"I think that the baby will like this." He spoke to the others who he now noticed were acting a bit quieter than usual. He sat up and stretched before heading back inside. "Two might need more help…. I think there's a sink somewhere if you, maybe, want to try rinsing off. May still have water that can be turned on." He then entered inside while the Artist and Guard stood there awkwardly.

"Think he saw anything?" Eight suddenly questioned and Six shook his head, "The fabric was bundled up too high to see us… Maybe we should look for the water?" Eight was moving in, "In a second." Then tilted Six's mouth up so that their paint smeared lips could meet again.

* * *

Neither Three nor Four were feeling very happy with their current situation. _"Why does she not trust us?" _Three asked her sister pitifully, "_I showed her with the Arachnid Beast that I can hold my own… A bit… That I'm not completely defenseless." _Her sister wasn't as saddened. She was instead quite annoyed and crossed her arms as such. _"We're not children. Will the baby arrive and we still be treated as such?"_

"_Probably." _Three pointed out in a sulking fashion as she wandered with her sister along the way. That's when Four stopped them and stared ahead, suddenly smiling wide, _"Look!"_ she flickered her optics quickly and Three looked up to see that her twin was pointing towards another set of stairs. This time, they went downwards instead of upwards, and Four looked quite happy to see them. _"If the attic is too dangerous, then why don't we go into the basement?"_

Three perked as well and grew excited, "_Oh let's!" _She agreed before putting a hand up signaling her sister to wait and dashing off. She quickly went up to the nursery, gestured to Five that she needed a match, he gave her one, and the two exchanged a quick embrace before she headed back to her sister's side. Now, with a light source, they headed towards the stairs. Some light from the window at the end of the hall shined downwards, so they didn't light the match right away.

They slowly dropped down the steps into the darkness as they filled with mischievousness and rebelliousness. They knew it wasn't too mature, but decided that taking the risk was fine, since the others considered them children anyway. The bottom of the basement was in poor condition and Three lit the match to see more. It looked like there were old mechanical parts stored about, as though for a car, and the two approached closer to examine.

That was when Four stepped in something wet and the two noticed a very strong smell. It wasn't bad, like blood, but just a strong scent that was dizzying. It looked oddly colored, too. However, they couldn't tell if it was the match making it look odd or not. Either way, they tried to find a way out and managed to steer clear of the liquid. That way, until something caught their attention. It looked like a figure in the back of the basement and the two approached.

The second they saw it was a body, the match throwing light on the empty sockets, Three leapt back in alarm. Neither of them had been unguarded enough to see a body this closely. She dropped the match in alarm and Four was horrified at the prospect of being in the dark.

Until it landed upon the liquid.

* * *

**Mable: I will just end it there… Next chapter will be up tomorrow! I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	36. Chapter 36: The Roaring Flames

**Mable: Onto chapter thirty-six! I don't have much to say so I don't own 9, and Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Thirty-Six: The Roaring Flames_

There was some water in the kitchen sink that Six and Eight were able to use to get some of the paint off. Thankfully, Six's fabric must have been resilient to stains, because the paint seemed to just wash clean off. Eight had a harder time, mostly with the red. To his detest and irony, the faded red took a pinkish tint and refused to move from his fabric. "Here." Six encouraged, stopping Eight from scrubbing his fabric clean off.

Six prodded and scratched at a dried out bar of soap on the edge of the sink before returning. He rubbed the flakes into Eight's fabric gently. Stitchpunk fabric was usually very easy to clean, Two once mentioned that he thought their fabric was treated with something, and eventually the pinkness began to go down. Six was being very soft for someone with sharp hands. It actually felt nice to have the other doing such a soft action, eased Eight up quite a bit.

"Maybe..." Six started, "We could find some canvas too." Eight had heard of canvas before, but in a different way. "I thought that was just a kind of fabric Stitchpunks were made of." The Artist nodded, "It is. I'm made of canvas. But humans also used it to draw on and maybe it would be easier to use that paper. The paper might leak." He obviously knew what he was saying even though Six always held a constant hesitance in his tone.

Eight was too interested in trailing his hand over Six's arm instead. Almost like he hadn't touched canvas before, it took Six by surprise and caused him to softly inhale. Even though they had repeatedly touched mouths, and it was considered very intimate, little actions like this still managed to send Six spiraling. Soft touches that almost signaled something more. Eight abruptly pulled away and Six guessed that he noticed the tension.

Six was still unsure what Eight and him were. They didn't feel quite like friends and were certainly not enemies so Six was genuinely confused. He wasn't naïve, though, he knew what else the two of them had a chance to be, but trusted that Eight would not want something like that. Being mates; Six couldn't say he hadn't thought about it in the past. He looked over toward the larger male only to notice him staring towards the doorway with a scrutinizing look.

"What's wrong?" Six asked cautiously and Eight soon realized that he wasn't disturbed about the touching at all. Instead, something else bothered him, "Is that smoke?" He pointed out and the Artist looked over to see the smoke lingering at the ceiling in the hall. "Smoke?" He asked softly as the Guard stood and began to head towards the hall. The Artist followed and they soon wandered into the same room with the easel.

Eight noticed the glow before the entered and looked in, only to recoil, "Damn!" He swore and Six rushed up to look in. The corner of the easel room was eaten by flames, like fire had eaten through the floor, and Eight went into his Guarding state of mind. He grabbed onto Six's arm and nearly dragged him as he headed towards the foyer. "Where'd the fire come from?!" Six gasped, "Why's it spreading so fast?!"

"After the War, the houses got damaged. It could overtake the rest of the house in minutes." He managed to run into the few others gathered in the foyer, who also seemed to know of the fire. This being Nine, Child, and Five. "It's definitely coming from below us." Child insisted, "Earlier I noticed a basement. Something down there must have alit." There were many questions still, but nobody was willing to ask.

"Six, get outside." Eight encouraged and the striped one was hesitant to leave him. The Guard gave him a light shove, "Go. I have to get the Boss." Six finally began to run a bit towards the entrance reluctantly. Five blurted out to Nine and Child the question of, "Where's Three and Four?!" He was nearly panicking and Nine tried to remember. "I think they came down here after…"

He filled with horror, "Seven's still in the attic!" He began running towards the stairs and Child attempted to stop him. Eight started to follow before Child's sudden comment caused him to stop, "The fire didn't start on its own. The twins could very well be down in the basement." Eight winced and Five gasped before running in the direction that Child pointed out to him as being the basement. Eight decided to follow Five, since the basement was obviously more dangerous than upstairs, calling back to Child, "Get One and Two out of the house!"

Child nodded and headed upstairs. He looked towards the stairs to the attic in an attempt to catch a glimpse of Nine, but couldn't see him. Instead, he headed into the nursery, where One and Two had not noticed anything. "Get out of the house!" The pale male called to them before heading right back out of the room. One and Two were confused, naturally, but obeyed as they understood how serious the other sounded.

They grabbed a few things and headed downstairs quickly, soon seeing what Child had been yelling about. The fire had moved quickly and began to spread through the hall. "Good Lord!" Two burst out as One quickly ushered him down the steps and towards the front door. They managed to make it outside before Two suddenly tried to go back in, "The others, they're still inside, we can't leave them!"

One was adamant, "If Child told us then the others must know! He can find the others, you cannot!" The Inventor still looked like he wanted to go in and One huffed, "I will stay by the door as long as I can; Get yourself and the child to safety!" Two nodded briefly and continued outside, a concerned hand resting above the small soul underneath the fabric. He noticed Six outside by the stack of findings that the Stitchpunks had previously moved outside.

He approached, "Are you alright?" Six nodded softly, but looked a bit disturbed still, and voiced his fear, "It was so quick… Is Eight okay?" Two didn't know what to say, "I… I didn't see him. However, if he was in there then he was probably looking for the others. One is waiting over there for the others." He gestured to the doorway and gasped at the flames spreading to the outside, "Weather worn…"

"What?" Six asked and Two explained, "After long periods of time without maintenance, the weather, time, and such causes buildings to be weaker. That is why the fire is spreading so quickly." This only worried Six more, but the Inventor spoke up, "They'll be fine." He didn't tell Six, but he wanted to rush in and find the others. To drag them out of the burning fire. However, One was right; he had to put his limits into perspective if he was going to keep the baby in mind.

He could only pray that the others were alright, just like Six was.

* * *

The final two steps were cement, as was the floor, and so there was no way to climb up once they were backed under the stairs by the flames. The second the match had hit the strange liquid it had engulfed in flames. Even part of Three's hand managed to get burned from being too close. Four had pulled her back behind the two cement stairs as they stared in horror. Three's fingers took no damage since the fire wasn't hot enough to melt the metal, but they did sting, but not as much as the growing heat.

They watched as the fire climbed the wooden wall and could only stare as it began to eat everything. Soon it would catch onto the stairs and they would either be burned alive or crushed under the rubble and ashes. This was a fear that was close to when being near the Fabrication Machine. The only difference was that the Machine, if it couldn't get them, may have eventually left. The fire wouldn't. It felt nothing and ate all.

The strange liquid only fed its ferocious appetite and made it stronger. The twins cuddled into each other, panicking, scared, and waiting for whatever would come. Minutes ticked by, the fire was burning through the top of the wall, and only then did they hear footsteps coming down the stairs. They both looked up just in time to see a burlap blur hop down the steps. He stopped on the cement steps and called, "Three?! Four?!"

His optic scanned the fire until he heard the knocking and tapping upon the cement below. He looked between the steps and smiled in relief to see the twin in good condition. Then it abruptly dropped as he took in the still present danger. The twins could hear as something heavy came down the steps and Eight also appeared in the gap as Five went through his bag. "Hold on, girls! I'll get you up!"

The Healer managed to pull enough thread out that he lowered it like a rope that both him and Eight held onto. Three wrapped the thread around her wrist to substitute for her fingers and used the uninjured hand to hold her sister who had a stronger grip on the thread. Five and Eight used both of their strength to pull the smaller females up onto the steps. Three immediately leapt onto Five when she was on safe ground and he held her close, though still looked to her sister as well when he asked, "Are you two okay?"

They nodded and Eight looked out at the fire, "What happened here?!" He asked, not expecting an answer, and both of the twins winced at the question. Five didn't pay attention and instead pulled them along. "We need to get out of here before the fire spreads more!" He lead and the others followed. As they entered the hall they could see that the fire was continuing to spread further.

Things were beginning to fall apart, the roof had actually caved in near the front door, and the group soon realized they couldn't escape that way. Instead, Five looked around until he noticed a room nearby that wasn't yet touched by the fire. "That way!" He led them into the room and they crossed to the window. Eight and Five managed to wedge the window open before helping the twins up onto the windowsill as well.

They dropped behind the house on a patch of dried out ground. From behind the house, the Emptiness stretched out with few standing buildings and a series of destroyed machine frames. They nearly had to climb over one as they circled the outside of the flaming building. It seemed like a much longer walk than it really was and soon they managed to make it to the others.

One had retreated out of the entranceway while Two was trying to comfort a panicking Six. "The fire got him!" He gasped and choked into the older Stitchpunk's vest. "I shouldn't have left him! What is he's dead?! He could be dead!" Of course, just about then, the other group of Stitchpunks appeared. Two was relieved to see them and Six followed his gaze to look back. He gasped in alarm and dashed as fast as he could toward the Guard.

Eight didn't exactly expect the figure to smack run at him, but did feel the need to comfort the obviously concerned Stitchpunk. Even if he could clearly see that One was staring at them suspiciously. "It's alright." Eight said quietly, "I told you I'd come out fine." Six just held onto him before pointing out, "The others didn't get out." The Guard was confused and he, along with Five and the twins, looked to Two.

He only returned with a solemn look.

* * *

Nine made it into the attic when the flames were just beginning to spread so he had expected that they could escape quickly. He didn't expect the length of the attic to be so long or that he wouldn't immediately find Seven. He dashed through the filled attic searching for her everywhere. By now the attic was incredibly hot and becoming thick with black smoke that disrupted Nine's already labored breathing.

Thankfully, he finally did catch a glimpse of her in the back, but by now the fire was overtaking the stairs. "Seven!" He called and she looked back quickly. The wooden grate looked like the one in the Sanctuary and Seven was using her spear and attempting to pry it off. "What are you doing?! The fire is coming this way!" Nine reminded and Seven beckoned him with a gesturing of her head, "Getting us out of here! Come help!" Nine rushed over to do so and tried to pull the grate free.

It was so hot that he imagined his insides melting away into nothingness. His head was becoming a bit clouded and spun dizzily as he struggled to free them both. Then, in a single snap, the grate popped out, and a small gust of clean air managed to reach him. Seven quickly headed through the opening to the outside of the house. Outside the grate, the house's roof sloped down a bit before dropping off, and she decided that they needed to head down and find a way to climb down.

Child, meanwhile, was still franticly searching inside the house. He had made it into the attic and mistakenly believed that neither was there. He was back in the attic again and searching for any sign, but by now the fire was eating away at the top floor, meaning that he couldn't get over to where the grate was. It was everywhere; the heat, the smoke, and he could only slightly remember his fabric being burned away by boiling oil.

He headed back down the steps, sure that they must have moved downwards, and began to search all of the rooms. He tried the bedroom that Nine and he had entered earlier while he was tutoring him and found nothing. He then tried the nursery and found nothing. By now he was beginning to realize that the heat and smoke were taking a toll on him. He couldn't keep going, and it was clear that Nine and Seven were not in the top two floors of the house.

Instead, Child decided that he had to get out. He had to escape, now, or he would perish in the fire. He used the last of his strength to run towards the stairs only to realize they were overtaken. Panic and desperation set in, memories of burning buildings, burning metal work, and explosions overtook his mind. In panic, he dashed to the nursery as it was the only room that was not completely engulfed. His eyes looked to the broken window.

When Nine approached the edge of the roof with Seven, he made sure to be especially cautious. Running about the Cathedral's roof had taught him how dangerous this was. Even more so because after the edge of the roof it simply dropped to the hard ground below. There was nothing to catch onto and nothing to break either of their falls. The Warrior began to follow the outside of the building, looking down, searching for a place that they could use to climb down.

He noticed the odd thing that looked almost like a small, manmade indention all around the house. He soon deduced that it was used to move water, especially when he and Seven approached where it went to drain down at. Seven nimbly swung down along the outside onto the descending drain pipe, managing to hold on enough, and steadily moving downwards along it. Nine followed, looking a bit clumsier, but managing to do so.

Nine could still feel the heat radiating from the house as they moved downward and watched the fire grow bolder. That was, until the drainpipe made a creaking noise, and then abruptly broke off from above. Nine expected to fall, but instead a section of the pipe, the section both he and Seven were holding, bent outwards as though it was falling. It stopped abruptly, nearly throwing both off of it, and Seven was able to grab onto the section that was still against the wall as she was closest.

The burlap male had to actually pull himself onto the shaky pipe and slowly make his way across before climbing down onto the stable section. It felt like hours passed before they reached the bottom of the house. Nine accidently fell on his back when trying to jump off of the last few inches and just laid there in exhaustion for a brief time. Seven began to search around for the others and soon saw them the adjoining side of the house, running up to them.

The other Stitchpunks, to say the least, were thrilled to see Seven run up and Nine stumble up. The twins locked onto Seven's form while Five approached Nine, "Are you okay?" Nine nodded, "Yeah, I'm just…" He struggled to pant a bit and Five encouraged him, "It's the smoke. It can't kill us, but it isn't good for us at all. Just breathe." He rested a hand on his best friend's back in comfort, just like a Healer would.

However, Six wasn't as pleased, "We're not all here." He reminded and One did a quick count, "Of course we are. All nine of us are here." There was a moment of silence before Two spoke up, "One, there's _ten _of us." Seven suddenly had a bad feeling and looked around, "Child's gone." One huffed, "Child, yes, of course." Then he suddenly grew very annoyed, "How could this happen? How could a random fire erupt inside a house?"

Three and Four looked at each other guiltily, though none of the others noticed. Nine spoke up, "It doesn't matter." The Leader was disturbed that the other was willing to overstep his question and glared, "It certainly does matter. If a random fire could begin in this house then what will stop it from overtaking the Sanctuary?" The tired and zippered one was exasperated, "It could've been started by anything-."

Nine was stopped by the sound of something hitting the ground some ways away. Eight had been the only one to actually see it plummet from one of the window before hitting the ground with a disturbing, cracking noise. Nine's words halted as he could only look over hesitantly, "Child?"

* * *

**Mable: Don't you hate when the chapter title spoils the chapter? Eh, I guess it did sum it up, though, and perhaps provoked some interest. ^-^ Anyway, chapter will be up tomorrow, right on schedule. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	37. Chapter 37: The Lingering Burn

**Mable: Here is the next chapter! I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Lingering Burn_

It was nothing but darkness at first as Child slowly began to come to.

Then, suddenly, pain. Pain everywhere, pain all through his system, and he tried to open his optics to see what was occurring. Blurry shapes that looked like Stitchpunks moved over him. That was, until one got too close for comfort and nearly yelled, "Do not move! You may be injured!" It sounded like One and Child slowly took everything in, about what happened that led him to this, about the fall, and about what was obviously the others that he couldn't very well see.

"This leg is broken." He could hear Two say. "I'd say his hip is also out of place as well… The opposite ankle is bent the wrong way. We can fix that." However, his voice was distorted in a strange fashion and would randomly change volume. It wasn't long until Child realized that it was obviously being caused by something wrong with himself. He soon realized his vision was also not returning as it should and he tried to question the others.

To his surprise his voice only came out in gasps and crackles. He actually felt his body gasp for air every time he opened his mouth. "Two, there's something wrong with his optics!" He could hear Seven speak up in alarm and Child looked over towards her blur in a dizzy fashion. Everything felt wrong, even the pain didn't feel as bad as it should have, and then everything seemed to abruptly stop.

"He's unconscious!" Nine called to Two in horror and the Inventor nodded, "He may be in shock. We must move him home, now, and fix him immediately." He instructed and managed to get Five and Nine to assist him in carrying the injured Stitchpunk. One wasn't willing to argue with Two carrying things as it wasn't too important at the present. The walk home was excruciating.

* * *

The next thing Nine knew, he was sitting beside the medical cot watching as Two and Five worked upon Child's frame. There had been interior damage from what he heard, but the two repeatedly stated that they were confident in being able to fix it without problems. Nine didn't feel as hopeful as he looked at what Child had become since the fall. Limp and unresponsive, almost like when Nine had found him in the beginning inside the Machine.

He could only remember that look in his optics before he had went unconscious. They flickered red a few times and were too dilated to work right. He had almost looked scared, as Nine felt now, and he could only wait for what would come. He didn't realize that the scene was being watched by Three and Four who were peering into the doorway. If he felt poor, they felt miserable, and could only stare at what they had created by going into the basement.

Slowly they drug themselves away from the door and sulked down the hall to their own room looking like prisoners. They moved past Seven's room where they could see had discarded her armor and was solemnly cleaning it. Usually, they'd go to her for comfort, but now they couldn't since they had rebelled against her to cause the problem. They had let down Seven and they now knew why she was so hesitant to accept them as adults.

Upon entering their room, Three suddenly stared at the candle flickering in the corner of the room. The workshop and hall were now mostly using the small lights hooked to the generator, but their room still had a candle in it, still lit, one that had been flickering there for hours and managed to melt down the wax a bit of the way. The entire time they were gone the candle could have easily tipped over and lit the Sanctuary on fire.

They would've lost everything they had once again. The same as with the Cathedral. Their beds, their supplies, their shelter; everything would be gone. Her breath began to quicken in panic as she stared at the small flame that could have destroyed their lives. Her burnt hand suddenly felt worse than it was as though it had been burned once again. It had hurt so badly that she could only wonder what it would be like to be completely engulfed in flames.

It curled into itself and she pulled it into her chest to protect it from the non-existent fire. Four followed behind Three and entered their room before looking to her sister in confusion. The trembling only confused her for a second before she realized that her twin looked terrified and was obviously from the small candle lighting their room. The one they used to see as a comfort and occasionally left on while they slept.

Four immediately approached and took his twin into her arms, holding her tightly in a protective fashion. Three buried her face into her sister's shoulder as her fear turned to shaky sobs. Her optics' flickering signaled nothing less than crying. Four, meanwhile, decided not to look at the candle out of risk that she too what lose what little self-control she had. Finally, this gave out, and she began to weep just as her sister was.

They slid to the floor against the far wall and stayed there in their perpetual tears. Minutes ticked by and they eventually managed to pull themselves together after this time. The tears stopped overtaking them, but neither could suppress the horrific guilt that was filling their insides. They had caused the fire out of an act of rebellion, because they weren't thinking, because they simply had wanted to act out against Seven who had not respected that they were mature.

The reaped reward of their actions was chaos. Any of the others could have died, Child was nearly gone from what they had saw, and they could do nothing but stand their helplessly. They nearly killed everyone just because they wanted to prove that they were mature enough to not be considered children anymore. Ironically, now they both realized that was exactly what they were, crying like infants and curled up to their twin as though it was their only lifeline. Just scared, little, doll children.

* * *

It was nighttime when Five and Two finally finished up on Child's injuries. Nine didn't leave his side once and so the two left him in charge of monitoring the male. They had to put a makeshift brace on his leg so that he wouldn't move it for a while, less him feel excruciating pain, and left him in the cot instead of moving him to his room. Two gave Five a hearty pat on the back and a smile for his work that he had done.

Since Child was in the Workshop trying to rest, One and Two moved the metal parts that would soon be their baby into the nursery where the Leader began to work while Two quickly jotted down what he would need to build a crib. Even though he didn't work on Stitchpunks like his mate, One knew a great deal about Stitchpunk bodies and was more than capable to assist in the creation of his son.

They worked in silence for a good portion of the time. That is, until Two abruptly stopped working and stared at the floor. One noticed his hesitance and glanced over, putting his own conclusion together, "If you are unable to work, Five and I can build the crib. You need your rest." This was actually a solemn hope that the Inventor was simply upset about that, though the Leader knew that wasn't the only case.

Two looked over with a heart wrenching look. "How can we bring a child into this?" One raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?" Two's voice was saddened and heavy, "Into this dangerous world. It is selfish of us to bring a helpless baby into such chaos. What would we have done if our infant was in our grasp at the time?" The Leader was quick to respond, "We would have lifted him in our gasp and carried him downstairs. Our baby would not be injured."

"It's just unfair." Two insisted pitifully, "Children shouldn't have to grow up in a world where they must fear everything. Every corner, every sound, and unexplained event." He looked back at the diagrams of the crib that the infant would sleep in. That's when One finished the thought, "He will fear nothing for we will protect him and we will teach him how to keep himself safe, and some far year in the future, Creator forbid, the others will have children, and our children will have children, and so forth."

Two suddenly chuckled out of nowhere and One glanced over. "We have not even had our first child and you're already discussing grandchildren! Perhaps you are enjoying the idea of children a bit too much." One actually smiled at this comment, obviously finding it humorous as well, and Two moved beside him to help with the body of the baby. The inner workings were what they were addressing, the smallest of the smallest part, and One suddenly pointed out, "You clearly said 'first'."

"Hmm?" Two asked with a mere hum and One repeated, "You referred to the baby as our 'first' child." Two blinked a bit; he hadn't realized that he had let something such as that slip past his lips, "Well, we cannot be sure that this will be our only child. We made have another someday." One actually released a soft chuckle, "And, apparently, I am the one obsessed with reproduction?"

The two continued on enjoying their time, creating their baby, thinking nothing of the fire that had haunted them only minutes before.

* * *

"Everyone's acting weird." Eight muttered as he entered his bedroom and collapsed on the bed. Six was on the floor drawing with his new paints on an old piece of paper. Eight had now become accustomed to Six being in his room quite a lot. In fact, for the last few nights Six had begun sneaking into bed with Eight. Mismatched optics looked up at the Guard, "They're probably still upset about the fire." Eight shrugged a bit in dismissal, "Maybe. We're all alive, we should be glad."

The Artist look downwards a bit sadly, "Child's hurt…" Still, Eight was persistent, "Two said he'd be fine and he's always right." A second of silence swept over the room as Eight tried to think of anything else. Soon, he remembered something in particular; Six previous reaction when the Guard escaped the fire. Then he slowly added, "You seemed really upset when I came up. You know, after I got out of the house."

The thought of his rambling and panicked tone embarrassed Six who abruptly came up with an excuse, "I was, a little, but I knew you'd be okay. I saw you'd come back. I was just… A little concerned." This seemed like a random comment, as Six didn't previously mention a vision, but Eight accepted it and shrugged it off, "I think I'm fine. Yeah, it was a bit dangerous, but we're safe now." The Artist nodded almost like he was thinking before he looked up. "I'm getting tired." He paused briefly then finished.

"Can I stay with you again tonight?" Six asked with an innocent little smile and Eight gave his own, "Yeah, sure. Scared to be alone?" Six looked confused at this. "No, you broke my bed." Eight suddenly winced as he realized why Six really had really wanted to share a bed; and it involved an event he never wanted to remember again. "Sorry about that." He was being honest too; the last thing he wanted was for his weight to destroy the Artist's bed.

However, his views slightly changed as Six put down his work and actually cross to the bed beside Eight. He climbed upon it and slid under the covers, his warmth brushing Eight's arms softly. He then curled into himself, face pressing into the pillow, and enjoying the comfort. His bed had never been comfortable, mostly because of its small size and the damage that he had done to it during nightmares.

He didn't know why, but he enjoyed sleeping with someone else, especially Eight. He felt safer and more grounded. Eight, on the other hand, didn't exactly know what to make of the smaller Stitchpunk being this close. He didn't mind it. In fact, he sort of enjoyed it, especially when he was able to reach over in the night and feel that Six was still there. Usually if Six was deep enough in sleep he was also able to get the male to grab onto his arm and hold on with a tight grip.

Something about having something that was obviously different and obviously untamed made Eight feel pleased. Especially when the different, untamed creature just happened to be Six, who Eight was slowly beginning to realize that was caring for an awful lot. He managed to lift his knife and used the flat side to snuff out the candle, unwilling to get up, and moved under the blankets.

A sudden thought came to him, _"I'm going to trip over his inkwell in the morning and make an idiot out of myself." _Then came another thought, _"I think he's asleep by now, usually is." _As such, he reached over, turning onto his side to face the small Artist, and rested his hand upon him. It landed on his hip and stroked the fabric hidden underneath the blanket. Six wasn't responding like he usually did; in the last few days Eight had been doing this he had judged Six's reactions as usually a soft sigh or a brief movement.

"Eight?" Eight froze as he heard Six's voice. It didn't sound groggy or slurred from sleep, which meant that he hadn't fallen asleep at all, and was clearly awake. Eight retracted his hand abruptly, signaling that he was also clearly awake, and the two sat there in silence. It was clearly awkward with Eight's hand floating in midair and Six going obviously refusing to move. Finally, the Guard managed to force himself to move, and moved his arm to lock around Six's waist.

Eight was relieved when Six suddenly eased up from his tension and wrapped his arms around Eight's strong one. The Guard pulled him back a bit until he could feel the other's warm back pressed to him. Then they just stayed like that for a bit before Six suddenly spoke, "I lied. I never saw a vision of you coming back. I never knew you were coming back." Eight just responded by pulling him closer and muttering, "It would take more than a little fire to take me down." This achieved smiles on both sides.

* * *

Nine had been watching Child for a good while before he finally received a reaction for the male. He perked as he saw the optics flicker open, now looking more normal, and came closer. "Child?" The pale Stitchpunk looked over groggily and Nine could clearly tell that he still wasn't well and felt the concern begin to grow again. With a smile, he pressed further, "How are you feeling?"

Child made a choking noise and coughed in response. Nine watched with dread as a small bit of the black liquid from before slipped from his white lips and down his chin. The zippered male forced himself to remain calm and went to retrieve the rag that Two left to the side to clean up spills. It was already coated in black spots that Nine assumed were ink as he approached Child once again. "Here, let's get that." He comforted and reached forward to gently wipe the black liquid away. By now he was positive that it was oil.

"There we go. Good as new." Nine comforted with a forced smile. Child looked too tired to respond and Nine noticed that his breathing was labored. His optics blinking tiredly before they began to close once again; Nine reluctantly encouraged it, "Get some rest. You need it after everything that's happened." He still couldn't suppress the fear and couldn't resist pressing a hand to the hook and hoop closed front to listened to the soul's soft pulse, to make sure the other was still alive.

He certainly was and Nine calmly retracted his hand. The overwhelming feeling of guilt was eating at him like the fire that ate away at the house. He had recklessly run off after Seven instead of waiting and leading the other along as well. "I'm sorry." Nine said quietly, hoping Child was still awake enough to hear him, "I didn't mean to leave you behind… I guess I've left a lot of people behind before…"

He continued with a soft exhale as the memories weren't too positive, "During the… During the Incident with the Machine, there were a lot of things I did wrong. First I put the Talisman in the Machine, then I brought the Winged Beast to the Cathedral, it burned down, then I went after Seven instead of Eight, then I left Five alone, and…" He smiled dryly, "I guess I mess up a lot of things up. You know I do, you've said I have… Maybe I am naïve."

Child didn't respond and Nine continued, "I used to be able to blame myself being young, but now… I don't know…" He leaned over, actually lying against the other's chest, which was supposedly mostly uninjured, "I'm sorry." After a few seconds he felt movement and sat up, "Child?" He looked down and recoiled, realizing that he had been leaning on the other's arm, "Sorry! I just- I didn't realize I- sorry!"

It was a good sign, though. Child was obviously able to feel things and responded when something annoyed him. Typical Child; he could barely move and yet he'd still find some way to show his annoyance. Nine smiled a bit before it abruptly dropped, "Please don't die." He begged to Child, to Creator, to anyone. "Please don't die. I promise I'll watch out better, I promise I'll do… Anything…" He trailed off before dropping his head into his hands.

It was going to be a long night. Nine doubted he himself could survive it.

* * *

**Mable: The next chapter will be up tomorrow. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	38. Chapter 38: The Harsh Recovery

**Mable: Here's the next chapter, right on schedule! Also, to the three who requested fics, I'm working on them along with this and they should be finished soon. I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Harsh Recovery_

"Nine…"

Nine felt himself begin to slowly slip into consciousness as he heard the voice speak. He groggily awoke and sat up, realizing that he had fallen asleep on the bench he had been sitting on, and he was surprised that he hadn't fallen off the bench in his sleep. He looked around and soon realized that Child was awake and that he was who had spoken. He immediately perked up and beamed, "Child! You're okay!"

The other winced a bit, still suffering from a headache, and weakly groaned, "Why is my leg in _that_?" He asked in confusion as he looked down to the brace that held his leg firm. Nine chuckled at his tone, and in relief, before answering, "It's a leg brace. It's so that you don't move your leg around too much, because it'll hurt." The white burlap skinned one collapsed back onto the cot, "How bad was it?"

Nine slowly went solemn while keeping a small smile, "It was… Pretty bad… Oh! Five can tell you." He explained as he noticed the Healer enter. "Five, Child's awake!" The buttoned male looked thrilled and approached, doing a routine checking over, "Good morning Child. How are you feeling? Any pain anywhere?" Child nodded a bit before freezing up, "My neck hurts. Was that injured as well?"

"Two said it was just strained. You did have a few internal injuries, but we managed to secure and fix them. Your voice box was knocked out of place as well, probably because you had a replacement, which was why you were having trouble speaking." Child looked down at his leg, "And this mechanical nightmare?" Five chuckled, "It will have to stay on for a while. The leg is fixed, but Two said that the pain of walking on it could be bad. Worse than Nine's leg when he injured it."

"I remember that." Nine winced and Five continued, "Also, your wrist was dislocated, but we managed to secure that. I guess you didn't notice the brace up here, did you?" Only now did Child see the tight cloth wrapped around his wrist and hand, holding them both firmly still, and he huffed a bit, "You all really believe I am that willing to get out of bed?" Five smiled comfortingly, "You wouldn't be the first. The pressure on it may help a little as well."

Child closed his eyes and Nine began to reenact what exactly happened at the house. Five seemed content to let the two be, as Child seemed to be a bit more comfortable knowing only one Stitchpunks was in the room, especially being Nine, and Five moved to leave the Workshop. Instead, he headed to his bedroom to get his pack to reorganize, as he felt the need to do so when he had nothing else to do. Also contemplated working on his needle harpoon and decided it was a good idea.

The second he sat down and pulled his weapon into his lap, there was a small knock at the doorframe and he spoke welcomingly, "Come in." The curtain was pushed aside and he could see it was Three. However, he quickly noticed that she didn't look very well. She looked tired like she had barely slept and walked oddly as though she was trying to avoid any sight of the other side of the room. He didn't know why; all that was over there was Nine's bed and a candle.

"Three? Are you alright? You… You don't look like you got much sleep." He spoke sympathetically towards the end as he sort of put together that perhaps this was caused by the incident the day before. He moved his weapon beside him and gestured for her to sit beside him. She did, cautiously, but made sure to avoid looking at the other side of the room. Five took her hand, "You have been holding it like it hurts. Did you injure it?"

The burn wasn't visible and Three nodded slowly, moving her hand in a 'so-so' pattern to show that it didn't hurt too badly. Five made an assumption, "Did something fall on it? Or did it get burned?" Three flashed her optics twice and Five caressed her hand. "It doesn't look bad. It will probably just hurt for a few days." He decided not to bring up why she didn't tell him and lifted the hand to his mouth to lay a soft kiss upon the back of it.

Three smiled a little, but was still obviously distressed, and Five noticed it. "What's wrong, Love?" The Librarian looked down at her hand for a bit before looking up guiltily. She wanted to tell him what happened, but couldn't. It was another one of those times when a voice would help and she could only look sad as she gestured to the candle that she refused to look at. He put together that it was what she was avoiding from its location.

"The fire?" He asked quietly and she pulled her hands back to gesture to herself vigorously in an attempt to admit her guilt. It had been bothering her all night and now she needed someone to know. Five looked sympathetic and murmured, "It's alright now." Three shook her head and pointed at the fire before herself, then the fire again. Soon Five stopped her, "Three, I know. It's okay."

Three was confused so Five explained, "I noticed the match was gone and the fire started in the basement so… I just assumed. I know it was just an accident." He had known, that meant the others knew, and suddenly Three felt a lot worse. As before with her sister, she began to tremble from silent sobs, and Five immediately took her close. "Don't cry. It wasn't your fault. A normal match couldn't have done that without something in the house to ignite it."

This made her feel a little better until she, again, saw the candle and buried her face. Five noticed this as well and continued, "Don't worry about the candles. If they fell over, most likely the melted wax would put out the flame, that's what happened in the past. That is, if the motion of it falling over didn't blow the fire out." She believed him, but still felt fearful, and accepted the Healer's loving caress.

"We're safe here, Three. No fire is going to get you." He encouraged and pulled down her hood so that he could pet her head. Then he pressed his burlap lips against her head to comfort her. Slowly, Three started to feel better, believing that maybe it wasn't entirely her fault. It certainly was somewhat, but it was also an accident, and Five still loved her.

She wasn't the only one looking for comfort. Four also decided to seek some help for her sadness and instead went to Seven. If anything, she felt the most guilty that she had betrayed Seven, and entered the room quietly. Seven was working on her spear and looked up at the twin. She could see that the other was clearly upset and said not a word. Instead, she stood and crossed over to the younger Stitchpunk, and embraced her in a motherly hold.

Unlike with Five and Three, there were no verbally exchanges or explanations. There didn't need to be.

* * *

Two didn't want to look at the body after it was finished. Both One and him agreed that it was best to wrap it up safely and keep it untouched until the time it would go inside of Two. For now, though, the two rested. Eight stood his normal post nearby. Six was missing and assumed to be sleeping in longer. That's when, suddenly, Two stood. "Perhaps we should move the throne to the side." He suddenly suggested and the other two looked bizarrely at him.

"Why?" One tested and Two insisted, "It would look better." The Leader took his appearance quite seriously and stood before turning to Eight, "Assist me." Surprisingly, One was actually willing to do his portion of the work as Two guided them to move it to the left. A few seconds after they were finished, Two looked displeased again, "Actually… Maybe we should move it farther. We're still… Oddly placed."

One huffed and stood, knowing Two wouldn't make a fuss unless something was wrong, and got Eight to again move the throne farther. The Inventor was content, One sat down, and a few minutes ticked by. "I was looking at it wrongly." Two abruptly announced to One and Eight, "It should be back to where we first had it. Yes, that would be better." One was nearing the edge of his rope and moved it, with Eight, back into the regular position.

After this, Two lost interest and wandered into the addition that was now their new bedroom, and Eight headed towards his own room. "I'm going to wake up Six." One nodded in agreement and rested in his throne for a few seconds before Two called, "One! There's a problem in here!" It didn't sound too desperate, but One knew it was serious if Two was willing to alert One; he would usually try to handle these things himself.

He entered the bedroom to see the Inventor staring at the bed with that same look he gave the throne. One could only stare as Two suddenly spoke up and announced, "We should move the bed a bit. This side doesn't have enough room." The Leader was taken aback, "It is the same as the other side." Two was insistent, "It is a bit smaller, see? It could mean that, possibly, we could hit the edge of the bed, the baby could hit the edge of the bed, and that certainly wouldn't be good."

Rubbing his temples, One slowly exhaled before sitting up alert, "Very well. We will move the bed. Just as we moved the throne; but please figure out _where _you want before we move it." The Inventor looked over the bed for a few minutes before perking. "Yes, very good, let's move it this way a bit." One went to the other side and tried to lift the bed. With the makeshift mattress, the blankets, and the frame all intact, One found it very heavy and doubted his mate and him could do it.

This was especially believed when he realized that Two was having quite a difficult time moving the bed without panting in exhaustion. One exhaled calmly, "I will get Eight. He can handle this. You cannot strain yourself in your state." He then began to head towards Eight's room. He was growing a bit more annoyed at the situation of having to fetch his Guard and stormed into the hall before entering the room.

"Eight, I need you to-…" He went silent and stared with a blank expression. Eight and Six were standing there, mouths together and only pulled away when they noticed him. They looked terrified and One continued to stare blankly, unsure how to process what he was seeing. Instead, he finished, "I need you to move my bed whenever you have the time." He then turned around and walked through the curtain.

Still, his reactions were minimal, as he slowly returned back to his room. He wasn't exactly sure how to react to whatever he just witnessed in the other room. He entered the bedroom and noticed that Two had again changed position. Now he was, instead, sewing some of the small cloth found from the nursery in the building that burnt down. It looked like he was trying to make layers into a thick blanket sized for a baby.

"Eight…" One began and repeated in disbelief, "Eight and Six were… kissing?" Two looked up with this look that depicted him unsure. He thought that perhaps One was trying to make sure he was listening. The Leader continued, "I still asked him to come assist us… Though I… I did not have much to tell him. Either of them." Two's optics widened as he took in the new information. Then, after a few seconds, he actually chuckled lightly.

"We couldn't very well say we didn't notice how different they've been acting. Before, Eight treated Six like a bother, but recently they've been acting much differently." One didn't respond at first. Half of him wanted to charge in and make a scene about Eight taking advantage of the small Artist. Half of him reminded him that it was merely a kiss and nothing more. "Perhaps they were experimenting. An innocent action that they mimicked because they saw us."

"Oh, yes, of course." Two responded as he continued to address the blanket in his grasp. "I am sorry about earlier. I didn't notice until you went to get Eight that I was acting a bit unpredictable. My mind is just going very rapidly and I keep finding the strangest ideas to fix up our home, to help the baby, even with the blanket." One nodded, understanding, and then looked towards the bed. "The bed is fine where it is?"

"Of course." Two said with a smile, then paused, and murmured, "Perhaps the Workbench should be moved. It is so close to the door." One decided not to address this and instead looked to Eight who entered the room with a nervous look. "Want me to move the bed, Boss?" He asked quietly and One decided to not look at the Guard at all, "Two has changed his mind. You are free to go." Eight looked relieved and left the room as quick as possible.

Six was waiting in the throne room looking just as concerned. He clutched his key tightly as his brows furrowed in guilt. He was the one to initiate the kiss and felt quite badly. However, Eight had seemed to enjoy the kiss, and didn't look upset when he appeared in the Throne Room. He explained, "He either couldn't see or could care less, because he let me out of there without a word about it."

Six was relieved at this and sent the Guard a lopsided smile, "Maybe we should be more careful?" Eight decided to add in, "Next time, we'll try your room." Six laughed a little at the thought and wanted to leap on Eight again. They both controlled themselves as they heard One and Two returning. Eight headed to his post by the throne while Six went to his corner to draw.

He trusted Eight's judgment, but he was sure One was giving them both strange looks.

* * *

A few hours had passed and Nine was still thrilled to see Child was awake. He was now pacing the room a bit to stretch his legs as Child watched him move back and forth. For some reason that Nine clearly noticed, Child was being a bit quieter than usual. No cynical comments, no smirk, no retort that Nine was naïve, just a quiet Stitchpunk who was acting strange and not just injured physically.

Nine suspected that it was the fire bothering him, but didn't know how to approach the subject. Before he could he was abruptly interrupted by Child speaking up, "I'm tired. Why don't you go find Five or someone to speak to while I rest?" He actually sounded normal and relatively tired as was expected. He didn't seem afraid to be alone and Nine started to suspect that maybe the male really was fine.

"Are you sure you don't mind being alone?" Nine asked softly and Child looked certain, "I could use some rest, Nine." Then suddenly added, "I know what you think, Nine, but the fire did not bother me in the slightest. The injuries are annoying but I don't automatically blame the fire. I leapt out the window myself." Nine nodded, a bit better, and headed towards the door. "I'm going to find Five and I'll be back in a bit."

Once he was gone, Child abruptly whistled, and then waited for a few seconds. Pet came scurrying in and climbed the bed onto Child's chest. His master pulled him close and caressed his back and legs in gentle pets. "I am glad I didn't bring you." Child said softly, "You could've been hurt. Now, instead, I am the one that is injured, but I am much easier to fix." Pet made a soft, metallic chirping noise and Child let his head rest upon the small spider.

"… Something's not right, Pet." Child's voice turned fearful and he briefly paused, "The Incident Nine speaks of… The Machine took their souls. It started with Two when it awoke before using the inspiration to build the Winged Beast. It sent it upon their Cathedral, burning it to the ground in its death, and the Chancellor Beast brought back its head as remains, dropping it before its Creator in a pitiful fashion."

He took a shaky breath, "Then it used Two's remains to build the Seamstress and sent it upon the Library. It brought back Eight and Seven where it immediately dispatched Eight and began to work. Nine managed to free her and it took after them. They actually blew up its factory with no more than a barrel of oil. It chased them down, Five and Six were taken, and it followed to the brink where it almost took Nine, before One shoved him out of the way."

Child closed his optics, "Then… Then Nine shut down the Machine with the Talisman. Sometime after that the others came back and…" he shook his head, "I don't understand Pet. It doesn't make any sense." He rubbed his temples as Pet curled onto his front, not understanding all that Child was saying. The white Stitchpunk exhaled calmly, "Nine only told me a little bit of that story…" He stared at the ceiling in distress, looking at the wooden covering for answer.

"So how is it that I know the details he failed to tell?"

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**Mable:…. Next chapter tomorrow. I hope everyone enjoyed.**


	39. Chapter 39: The Fearful Fleeing

**Mable: Here we go, next chapter up, and I don't own 9! Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Fearful Fleeing_

Nine now knew that Child had lied; he wasn't fine. It took the zippered one a while to actually realize this. It started with the fact that Child was acting even quieter when he returned and soon turned into an odd instance when Chile insisted that the lights were all turned off so that he could rest. Nine obliged, but it wasn't until he awoke the next day that he realized that he shouldn't have left the other alone.

It was early afternoon when Nine had woken, he had slept in a little late, and he leisurely went to check on Child. What he found instead was a metal brace that had been pried off and an empty bed. Child had left. In shock and alarm, Nine began to alert the others with a quick, "Child is gone!" He heard from Six, who was a light sleeper, that he had heard footsteps in the hall in the early morning, before the sun had even thought to begin to rise.

As such, Nine knew Child was somewhat attempting to travel by night, but there was still a chance that he himself could catch up to the other. He hadn't taken Pet, which surprised Nine greatly, and he encouraged the little spider Beast to stand and follow. However, even it was acting like it was hesitant. Nine assumed that Child had commanded it to stay here and it was having trouble fighting against such a command from its master.

Nine grabbed his Lightstaff and headed down into the Library in a short amount of time. By now most of the others knew so it wouldn't exactly be a surprise that he was leaving to find the other. What did surprise him, though, was when he realized he was being followed. He expected Five to attempt to follow along even though it was such short notice. However, he was a bit taken aback when Five, Seven, and Six all seemed to appear behind him.

Of course, Nine could predict what they were there for. "We're coming too." Five explained, a little out of breath from running through the Sanctuary to catch up. Seven nodded in agreement while Six stayed quiet. Nine wasn't sure if Six came to see them off or come along with them. Nine was quick to turn down all of the offers, "Sorry guys, but I think I should do this alone. Out of all the things I've done alone and _something _has gone wrong, I think I can handle this one."

Seven looked unsure, "Why can't we come? It would be easier to move in a group." Nine exhaled at a bit of frustration from the situation, not the others, "Because Child would see you and flip. The only time I can get any answers out of him is when we're alone together. Besides, I have Pet." He gestured to the Spider Beast who was making circles around a piece of paper that had been left on the floor.

"Are you sure?" Five asked. Five trusted Nine's word a lot better and already sounded willing to stand down so that his friend could find Child. Nine then looked to Six, "You can't come with me ether. I'm sorry." Six shrugged, "I didn't want to." He answered bluntly and honestly. Nine didn't face Seven, knowing she wouldn't back down, and instead began to leave. "Wait." Seven stopped him before inhaling deeply and exhaling.

"Fine, you can go alone, but before you leave let's at least figure the most likely places that Child may have headed." Five nodded with this thought and Nine decided to appease Seven with the action. Five unrolled one of his maps and looked it over carefully before coming to his conclusion. "I think we can agree that the First Room is a possibility." Nine nodded at this and viewed the map to remember the locations.

"He could've headed to the phonograph if not there. I'm not sure why he would, but it seems to be the farthest point he could make with a wounded leg." Then Six added in his own thoughts, "If there, I'm sure he could make it a little farther, as long as it was downhill." Nine didn't understand exactly what the Artist meant. Instead, he nodded, and Five rolled up the nap before handing it to Nine. "Here, take it."

Nine nodded at his friend, "Thank you." Before he held it tight and began to head towards the entrance to the Library. He could tell the others were watching and turned back with a small smile, "I'll be fine. He probably just took a little walk to spite the fact that he should've been staying in bed." Five smiled a concerned smile as well, "Maybe. He didn't like that we told him to stay in bed with the brace."

"He couldn't have gotten too far." Nine encouraged, "I doubt he would've gone far anyway." Now both Five and Seven began to realize that Nine was saying these comforting words because he himself had to hear them. As such, they decided to go along with it. "He may just be outside." Seven encouraged and Nine smiled at this thought. "Let's hope. One won't be happy if I'm gone for hours. It's already afternoon as it is."

Slowly, he stepped backwards towards the exit, waving at the others, "I'll be back quick." He promised before turning around and heading out into the Emptiness. It was a bright day and sun glared down in Nine's optics. However, it didn't detour him, and he followed Pet out into the world to find the missing Stitchpunk named Child.

It wasn't too warm, but the blue sky was very pleasing, and Nine felt a little more upbeat as he tread the ground towards the first room. Pet circled around him playfully and randomly found things interesting. Nine decided to play with the smaller a bit and lifted a small rock before throwing it a few feet. "Go get it, Pet." He encouraged and the Spider Beast rushed after it. He returned in a short amount of time and returned the rock to Nine's feet, where Nine threw it again.

For being a Beast, Pet didn't act like a Beast, and Nine guessed it was because Child created him. It was a little strange to think that the Stitchpunk actually managed to build a machine like this. It didn't really concern Nine, more strike his curiosity. Child was very interesting and seemed to keep introducing strange behavior that the others didn't exhibit. Nine didn't want to admit it, but he felt a kinship with Child. They were both struggling to figure out where they stood. Nine with his youth and Child with his lost time.

Suddenly, Nine wondered what it was like to be in the Machine. Child said he hadn't remembered, but Nine wasn't sure if he ever actually had consciousness. It must have been terrifying. It made the male feel bad for the other Stitchpunk. It was hard to show Child sympathy, though. Not because Nine didn't want to, but because Nine didn't know how. He wasn't sure how to help a Stitchpunk as reclusive as Child.

The oddest thing was that Child's reclusion suggested antisocial behavior, but Child acted like it didn't bother him, like he didn't even notice it. He spoke as though talking to the others was simply tiring and not stressing. Maybe he just knew how to hide it a bit better than anyone else. Nine wasn't too sure about Child, but did know he wanted to help him, even if it meant dealing with the other's behavior.

Child was unlike the others to Nine. A complete pessimist, more than even One, and he infuriated Nine at times. It was as though the other tried to press Nine, to antagonize him, and Nine suddenly wondered if Child didn't like him much. Maybe Child really didn't like Nine and merely tolerated him. Nine wasn't sure anymore. He stopped when Pet dropped the rock onto his foot and remembered that the smaller creature wanted him to continue their game.

The Stitchpunk kneeled and grabbed the rock up to throw it. He was stopped by the sound of nearby movement. He froze up, went silent, and scanned the surroundings before remembering what attacked him the last time he arrived at the First Room; the Cat Beast. "Come on, Pet." He murmured. Pet seemed to notice the noises and was standing alert, to Nine's dread. The soon began to hurry along towards the First Room.

Nine managed to arrive at the First Room without incident. He was sure he still heard something following his footsteps, but ignored it, and began to search the First Room. It managed to stay cold even though it was so sunny outside the window. The zippered male saw no sign of Child, but did notice a piece of paper on the floor. He crouched down and lifted it to read over what it said, "To my father, who I love dearly…" He read and continued through the letter.

"Did… Did Child write this?" Nine asked Pet, not that the Beast would know. The letter was old, years old, but it sounded as though it was written by Child. However, it didn't mean Child was here recently. Nine doubted he had been here at all. With that revelation, Nine realized he'd have to go back into the Emptiness, and was cautious as he did so. He did decide to bring the letter with him and subconsciously put it inside himself, zipping himself up afterwards.

He headed back into the Emptiness and lead Pet along with him. The sun still shined brightly, but he could clearly hear that something was lurking about. The occasional noise of a rock being kicked or a piece of leftover metal shifting to let something move by was clearly someone following. Nine began to slow his pace as he began to recognize that the 'Beast' sounded oddly small and ran in soft, scuttling movement.

Finally, Nine decided to stop running, and actually contemplating facing this following person. Nine began to turn around and looked towards the direction of the noises as Pet tugged on his ankle. Instead, Nine leaned down and picked up a stone, and then threw it over a nearby tin can. To his alarm he watched as Pet took after it. "Wait, Pet!" He called out in desperation. He watched in disturbance as Pet disappeared and then was followed by a soft cry.

Nine quickly dashed around the can as he recognized the voice. Looking behind the metal container, he could see none other than Six, laying in a heap with Pet crawling over his chest with the rock firmly in the mouth on its underside. Six clearly didn't want to look over at Nine, he looked ashamed, and Nine stared at him. "Six? You… You followed me." He concluded and Six stared at the ground, "Yes…"

"I thought you didn't want to come." Nine pointed out with a small smile and Six nodded, "I didn't. I wasn't really lying; you just assumed that I wouldn't follow, so I didn't have to tell the entire truth." Nine then asked, "Did Eight teach you that?" The Artist nodded with a guilty smile. Nine helped him to his feet as Pet scurried off with his rock. "It could've been dangerous, Six." The Artist shrugged a bit, "I know. I had to come."

Nine pulled out the map, "Since you were following me I guess you know that the First Room was empty." The Artist didn't seem surprised and merely nodded a bit as Nine checked the map. "The Phonograph is always a chance. He knows the way there." Six seemed to nod a bit vigorously and Nine assumed that meant that he, too, believed that this was the right way. Nine folded up the map and held it close as they began to walk.

They arrived at the Phonograph in a short amount of time and Nine was taken aback, and discouraged, when he realized that Child was missing from here as well. There weren't many places to look and he leaned against the side of the Phonograph. That's when his optics passed the destroyed factory nearby, "_Would he have….?" _He wasn't sure, but it was always a chance, and he had this strange feeling about it.

As though able to tell what he was thinking, Six spoke up, "I'll wait here." He then began to address the records out of curiosity. With that bit of encouragement, Nine began to head towards the Factory. He calmly commanded Pet to stay behind, "Stay with Six." He said as he pointed towards the striped Stitchpunk. The little Beast complied while still managing to not look completely pleased. Perhaps it too suspected that Child was inside the factory.

Nine didn't like the smell coming from the remnants of the building. Even after all this time it smelled like a mixture of burning and oil. Though oil hadn't ran through this area since the stopping of the Machines. The smell was overpowering and Nine was only relieved that the heat was gone. Outside the factory there had been this strong, dizzying heat that Nine despised. It wasn't like the heat from the sun or a fire; it was unnatural.

The remaining shell of the factory looked as though it would fall apart at any second. Nine was almost afraid to touch anything as he went under the metallic covering. Part of the setting sun shined into the shade underneath all the rubble in some places. He still used his Lightstaff to see. In the center of the factory, where the Machine had been, he was soon alerted that he was, in fact, not alone.

At first he didn't recognize him because of how he was clothed. It was a makeshift cape that Child had wrapped around himself and Nine distinctly remembered that Child wasn't fond of the sun. He was probably wearing this to block out the glaring light upon him. It looked to be made of one of the Machine banners that could be found all across the Emptiness. A smaller version of the insignia rested upon the back of the cape and seemed to face Nine like a warning beacon.

Of course, Nine knew that Child could be upset with him following, so he accepted the warning and spoke. "Child?" The cloaked one looked to the side abruptly, back towards Nine who was behind him, so the zippered male knew it was him. "What…" Child began, "Are you doing here?" His voice gave away obvious pain and Nine was certain that the other was probably suffering from walking so long on his leg.

There was something else in his voice. Nine was surprised to hear that it sounded like fear. "I came to find you." Nine explained, "We've been looking for you all over the Emptiness. Why did you leave?" Child answered with another question, "How did you find me? I gave no indication to where I would be heading." Nine shrugged a bit, "I tried the First Room and then headed to the Phonograph. Five gave me a map, but I left it over by the Phonograph… You didn't answer my question."

"You didn't answer my question." Child pointed out and Nine retorted, "You didn't answer mine." Then continued, "I just had a feeling when I was at the phonograph." Child continued to stay relatively quiet and Nine approached, crouching before him to check his leg. "Does it hurt?" Child's breath caught when Nine's hands took ahold of his thigh so he decided that it did hurt. "You shouldn't have been walking on it."

Child looked strangely depressed and Nine continued to pry, "Why did you leave?" Child closed his optics as the other's hands moved over his leg. "…The Incident." He didn't want to tell Nine, but he found that he couldn't help himself, as he unfortunately trusted the other too much. Nine blinked, "You mean, what I told you about us and the Machine?" He came to a conclusion, "If this has to deal with you coming out of the Machine, it doesn't matter. We know-."

"Yes, it does matter." Child strictly interrupted, "It matters much more than you can comprehend. You're too naïve to understand." Nine looked annoyed, "I am not naïve, Child, I just know that you are a normal Stitchpunk. Just because you were in the Machine doesn't make you the Machine." Child retorted again with something that the other couldn't answer with, "Then why do I remember things you haven't said? How could I have seen the Incident?"

Nine stared blankly and Child soon began to clearly show fear across his face. "I should not know so much if I was just a tool. How do I know? More importantly, how much more can I not remember?" With that, Nine spoke up, "Don't." Child stared at him and Nine continued. "Just… Just don't." He paused and continued. "We know that you had a connection with the Machine, it was connected to your soul, so you were bound to have got some influences or memories from it. That doesn't change anything."

"It doesn't?" Child's voice sounded soft, unusually so, and struggling for some belief that Nine was correct, but soon the cold look of indifference returned. "Nine, you're trying to reason with the truth. It isn't that simple. It-." This time, Child was cut off, as Nine abruptly leaned forward and wrapped an arm around the other. He lowered his Lightstaff and wrapped the other one around as well, waiting for a reaction.

When Child gave none, other than stiffness, Nine decided that what he was doing was good enough. He pulled Child closer and held him in a tight embrace to show whatever he could, his trust, his lack of fear, and was soon rewarded with Child resting against him. They didn't pull away.

* * *

**Mable: Next chapter will be up tomorrow! I hope everyone enjoyed!... By the way, I know what you're thinking, and I'm just saying no.**


	40. Chapter 40: The Renewed Faith

**Mable: Chapter Forty! I am almost halfway there, and it only took about three months. :D Great, great! I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Forty: The Renewed Faith_

Nine had no idea how he fell asleep, but knew he had when he awoke. The surroundings were dark and he reached around for his Lightstaff before turning it on. From the darkness he was sure that it had turned nighttime while he was asleep. He also noticed something holding onto him and looked back to see Child clinging to his back tightly, hands locked on his hips. The pale Stitchpunk looked serene, mouth slightly open, completely relaxed, and Nine almost felt bad when he poked him in the arm and announced, "Child, you're on me."

Child's optics blinked open and he pulled back before rolling onto his back. "God, my leg." He muttered as he rubbed the sore thigh. "I think you were laying on it." Nine sat up and stretched a bit, "It wouldn't be my fault. You had a death grip on me." He felt over his hips, "I think you left indentions in my fabric." Child just watched him stand tiredly as Nine stumbled a few pitiful steps. "We've got to get home."

At this second, Nine remembered that Six was outside, and felt a little panicked. "Six is still outside." He pointed out and Child looked confused, "What is Six doing outside?" The zippered male went to help Child up. "He followed behind Pet and I." At this time, Child was suddenly trying to get up, "You brought Pet out here? What were you thinking?! I swear-!" He fell back onto the ground with the cry and began to swear extensively.

Unfortunately, because he had been so focused on Pet, he tried to get up with the injured leg and was now facing the pain again. Nine calmly leaned down and helped Child up again, this time using more effort. "Here." He offered his Lightstaff to the other male who immediately leaned against it. Nine remembered that Child had been willing to carry his during his leg injury, so he felt obligated to help.

"You know what I just realized?" Nine said with a smile as he led them towards the exit to what could no longer be considered a factory, "We both had leg injuries." Child didn't see this as much of a bonding moment like Nine did, "A coincidence." The other smiled in amusement, "Unless fate has decided that Stitchpunk don't need legs anymore." This got a small smile from the other and Nine was finally feeling like he was making some progress with him.

They managed to head up the slope to the Phonograph, though Nine did have to help Child at this point. He was having trouble getting up the slope and, in the beginning, refused any help. "I can make it the rest of the way." Child insisted to the concerned Nine, "My leg is fine. It's simply in pain." Eventually he finally gave in and linked an arm around Nine's shoulders when he got close enough. A bit of a demanding way to ask for help, but Nine accepted this as it was Child's way.

As they made it up to the Phonograph, Child whistled, and Nine winced. "You did that right beside my head." The other shrugged, "You could have moved to the side." Nine retorted, "No, I couldn't have. You have your arm around my neck." Child went quiet and Nine knew he had managed to win the small dispute. That was, until he noticed that the only reason Child backed down was because Pet was running up towards them. The small Beast circled through his Master's legs until Child bent down to address him.

This ended up yanking Nine's neck down, but he just dealt with it since Child was doing something kindly. He stroked Pet's back before putting his arm close enough that Pet could climb up along his arm and onto his back. Apparently Child would accept the extra weight and Nine looked around to see Six. Since it was nighttime, Six had fallen asleep, and used the map like a makeshift blanket. It didn't work as it was too small.

The Stitchpunks hobbled over and Nine shook Six to awaken him, "Six? Six, we have to go home." The Artist struggled to awaken and looked at the zippered one in confusion, "Is it nighttime?" Nine nodded, "Yeah… Child and I got caught up." Six looked away, "I know. I went in to get you… Decided to leave you two alone." Nine could catch a little bit of a smile that Six was hiding and realized that he had clearly seen them while they were sleeping.

Nine suddenly flashed on what was now a very embarrassing position Child and he were in. He could also see that Child was looking away as though he too was embarrassed. Neither wanted to look at each other. Nine cleared his throat, "We should… Head back to the library." The Artist climbed to his feet and decided to assist Child by letting him wrap his other arm around his shoulder. This meant Nine was able to hold his Lightstaff again.

Three Stitchpunks locking arms was an awkward even and the three were moving at a slow pace. Nine doubted Child was really trying; he took all weight off his injured leg and practically let the others drag him. After a good ten minutes, Nine and Six hadn't gotten Child anywhere near the Library, and were getting tired. "Let's just stop for a second." He encouraged, but Child was adamant, "It should not be much longer."

"You're not the one walking." Nine murmured under his breath and Child made a noise that was nearly like a growl, "If you think I did not hear that you are sorely mistaken." Nine huffed, "Of course you heard it! We're so close that we're breathing on each other!" Child glared at him in annoyance, "And that is my fault? You came out here on your own! You should have come more prepared!"

Six managed to steer the three of them while the other two continued to argue with each other. Soon he led them to refuge in a cardboard box. Parts of the roof were sunken away and very damp from recent rain. They sat down for a good twenty minutes before Nine and Child's bickering became too much for Six to put up with. They had been randomly muttering at each other over little things that Six couldn't understand.

Then, suddenly, it stopped. Out of nowhere, Nine and Child abruptly stopped arguing. What Six hadn't noticed was the event that managed to stop the fighting. As simple as it was, it ended up being a single comment, "I'm just glad you're okay. I just… I don't know. I'm getting tired of us running off and disappearing." Nine spoke up and whatever Child was going to retort about dissipated.

Child didn't actually expect Nine to say this or even think it. Even with that odd embrace earlier, he was certain that Nine had come to get him out of his 'hero complex', which he had mentioned during their bickering. So hearing Nine actually admit it seemed to cool him down. Instead of responding, he pet Pet's back. Then he spoke up, "You've been doing well with Pet… You are assertive enough to give him firm commands while not being firm enough to drive him away."

Nine smiled and reached over to pat the spider Beast's topside. "He likes this game where you throw a rock and he brings it back. We were playing it for most of the trip. Here, watch." He looked around for something he could throw and soon walked out of the box to grab a rock. He then came back and threw the rock outside the box. "Go get it, Pet!" He beamed as the small Beast dashed outside the box and returned shortly later. Even Child looked pleased and he was the next to throw the rock.

"I have been searching for something for him to do. He does not have much to enjoy." Nine sat down beside the pale Stitchpunk, "You spend a lot of time with him. Why didn't you bring him with you?" Child looked a little perplexed, "Honestly, I was not thinking when I left. I simply did. I didn't even plan… I would have come back." The zippered one smiled at this, "I'm glad. I didn't know why you were leaving, but I'm tired of everyone leaving." Child nodded, "I am as well. I just needed something to get my mind off…"

Nine abruptly spoke, "I know. Couldn't do it with all of us." Child nodded in agreement as he threw the rock again. Then he spoke up, "I… I am glad that it was you who came." This seemed to take Nine aback, "Really?" This was rewarded with another quick nod. "Not that the others would not be concerned. I am sure they would care, maybe even more than you can, but I feel more comfortable with you. Perhaps because I know your expectations of me are not high."

Nine looked quick to retort and Child interrupted, "That was not a stab at you. If anything, it was a stab at myself." They both sat in silence before Child spoke, "I know most of the Incident between you and the Machine now. It must have been difficult on you." Nine looked down at his hands in his lap, "A little… Most for the others." Before he could continue about how much it didn't bother him, it was actually obvious that he was denying what was true, Child spoke once again.

"You were young from what I heard. A newborn." Nine smiled a little, "Yeah. I was naïve then, very naïve… That's saying a lot considering what I'm like now." He added to silence any comment the other would make. Child, instead, chuckled a bit, "I remember when I was a newborn. The world seemed… Simpler. At first, naturally." Nine nodded, "Then I put the Talisman in the Machine."

"We're alike, you and I, Nine." Child pointed out, "We have both done something drastic brought on by being young and foolish. Perhaps we can both move on since we cannot say we are the only misfortunate ones." The brown, burlap skinned one perked at this and locked his arm around the other's shoulders in a brotherly motion. "If we can suffer with each other, we should be fine!" Child smiled as well, "Yes, I am sure… Carry me on your back."

Nine looked confused, "What?" The other male gave a look of mock innocence, "Now that we have bonded it is only fair that you assist me." The other still looked confused and Child looked towards Pet, "Odd… I seem to be having the strangest memory… As though… I have carried you before?" Nine groaned before smiling again, "I was hoping you weren't going to remember. Alright, let's go." Child raised an eyebrow, "I was merely-."

"I know, but you're right. I want to return the favor." He looked over and chuckled, "Six is asleep again." Indeed, the Artist was again curled on his side, and neither of the two had noticed him going to sleep. He went to wake him. "Six." He said softly, shaking the Artist, "We're heading home the rest of the way." The striped one sat up and staggered to his feet while Nine crouched in front of Child.

"Alright, get on." Child merely stared at his back quietly for a few second. "Child?" That snapped the male out of it and he used his uninjured arm to climb onto Nine's back. Nine immediately realized that Child was very heavy, heavier than any of the other Stitchpunks, and gasped out, "Why are you so heavy?" Child answered in an unfazed way. "The extra metal limbs, the metal interior; you carried me back from the burning building."

"Three of us were carrying you, and I can't drag you like I did the first time." Nine pointed out as he managed to stand up straight, "Can you call Pet?" Child whistled for the Spider Beast, unfortunately right next to Nine's audio receptor. The zippered one didn't give the white Stitchpunk the pleasure of pointing this out and instead began to stagger along. Six took the liberty to pick up the Lightstaff and walked along with them, lagging behind.

It wasn't too long until when they arrived home and they gladly boarded the lift. Six turned the crank until they rose into the throne room and the three headed down the hall. Six followed Nine into the workshop, where he was dropping off Child, and left both the map and the Lightstaff on and against the workbench. He then hurried along towards Eight's room, desperate for some sleep.

As he entered he immediately noticed that the room was dark and that the bed was empty. "Where've you been?" Six nearly screamed at the voice coming from right beside him. Because it was dark, he hadn't noticed that Eight was on a stool by the door, just sitting there. He had obviously been waiting for the Artist to get home and was, strangely, acting like he was upset. Six soon deduced why, "I… I went after Nine and Child." He hadn't told Eight, or anyone, that he was planning to leave.

"Are you… Are you upset?" Six asked timidly and Eight kept his arms crossed, "Why would I be upset? Because you left in the middle of the afternoon, didn't say a word, and didn't come back until after Midnight?" Six winced; Eight was certainly upset. He stood and crossed to the bed as Six sputtered out, "I'm sorry." Eight didn't seem impressed, "You're sorry because you were caught."

He lay down in bed, refusing to look in Six's direction, and stared at the wall. "Just get some sleep. One will probably question you in the morning about what happened." Six nodded and slowly approached. He didn't have anywhere else to sleep anyway and slipped into the bed. He should have been grateful; Eight's anger at him wasn't nearly as bad as it used to be. No torn drawings, no insults, no names like 'freak', but Six still felt hurt that he had managed to upset Eight so badly.

"Eight…" He said softly before falling silent. After a few seconds, Eight retorted with, "What now?" It was particularly strict and the Artist winced a bit. "Nothing." He immediately answered and lay back down on the bed, pulling the covers over his head and curling in a tight ball. He was starting to really regret leaving after Nine to search for Child; since he didn't help much anyway and now had Eight angry. As he drifted off, he hoped Eight would be better in the morning.

Nine, meanwhile, had decided to check in on One and Two, perhaps to ease the Leader's wraith if he confessed when he was tired. As he entered the bedroom quarters, he soon saw Two sit up in bed, apparently still being awake. "Nine?" Nine came closer, "We just got back." The Inventor was obviously concerned, "Did you find Child?" Nine nodded and approached, noticing something strange with Two's abdomen. There was an obvious bulge, "What happened?"

Two glanced down and chuckled tiredly, "It's the child. We've put the body in and it shouldn't be much longer before he's complete." He was clearly elated and Nine felt happy himself. He wasn't exactly sure what babies were like still, but wanted to know, and wanted to see what it was like. Two rubbed the small lump in his belly and smiled pleasantly; obvious even more excited than Nine could be.

"Child was at the destroyed factory." Nine explained, "He… He needed some time to think. He said he wasn't planning to leave for good." Two nodded, "Good, and his leg?" Nine shrugged, "It was hurting, but we got home alright. He's in the Workshop now." There was a shuffling from the other side of the bed and a gruff voice spoke up, "Could you two, perhaps, save this conversation for the morning?" One was obviously annoyed that Nine was in his room and the burlap one decided to back off.

"Right. Good night, Two." Two smiled at him, "Good night, Nine. Tell Child I will check him in the morning." Nine nodded and left the room. He didn't see One roll over and place a protective hand on Two's abdomen. Instead, Nine just wandered back to the Workshop. Child had been specific about wanting to sleep in the Medical Cot because his own bed was still just blankets on a floor, probably uncomfortable.

In fact, as Nine stood behind Child, staring at his back, he came up with an offer. "Sleep with me." He wasn't sure why, but Child abruptly got this look of alarm on his face, "I'm sorry?" Nine repeated, "Sleep with me tonight. In case your leg hurts, so that you don't have to get up." Child looked confused, "So… You want Six catch us in that position again?" Really, Child was having a little barrier between any sort of answer and was unsure how to respond.

"Come on, Child. If we act like it was nothing, which it was, nobody will think it's anything." He expected Child to point out how silly the comment was worded, but instead Child simply exhaled. "Fine, yes, let us go." Child limped towards Nine's room. Pet was gone, so Nine assumed he had gone to his own bed, and followed behind Child. An awkwardness overtook them both as they entered Nine and Five's room.

Five was already asleep, alone in bed, and Nine approached his own bed before lying down on it. He folded his arms behind his head to give the illusion of being relaxed. Child approached and lay on the other side of the bed before exhaling, "Your bed won't fit you, your hips, and I." Nine looked over with a mock glare, "You bring up my hips again and you're sleeping on the floor. I do _not _have a female body."

Child's optics flickered down and Nine pulled the blanket up to cover himself, "Stop that." Child chuckled a bit, amused, and laid back in an effort to get comfortable. They sat there quietly before Child suddenly spoke, "Thank you." Nine looked over, "For what?" Child's optics closed as he relaxed, "I didn't want to be alone." Nine wasn't sure whether he meant finding him at the factory or inviting him to bed with him.

Either way, it made Nine feel good, and he appreciated the fact that he could help someone.

Even though Child tended to push him, Nine was glad he had him.

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**Mable: As expected, this is the last chapter in the arch. The next arch will begin next Wednesday, so I'm sorry for the wait. In the meantime I will get more writing done, even if it kills me… Which I hope it doesn't. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	41. Chapter 41: The Mysterious Building

**Mable: We passed forty! Hurray! That means I've almost overtaken the halfway mark. However, don't expect the fic to be winding down, because it certainly isn't! I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

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_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Forty-One: The Mysterious Building_

Nine awoke to find that Child was missing. He was a little relieved that he didn't have to face the other male right now and instead got up slowly. Five's bed was also empty, so he had to be up as well. The zippered Stitchpunk looked at the empty room and suddenly had an abnormal feeling of loneliness. He wouldn't deny that he occasionally had these feeling that bothered him, the feeling that he should be doing something, but didn't know what.

It was partially because, unlike the others, Nine hadn't exactly found his position in life. Five was the Healer, Two was the Inventor, and Seven was the Warrior; Nine had no title since he denounced the title as 'Savior'. He felt like it wasn't right to accept the title of Savior when he hadn't technically saved anyone, or planned to live his life under such a meaningless glow.

That was his argument with Child coming back to bite him. _"You have a hero complex, Nine. You always need to be right, need to be the leader, the healer, the savior, and frankly you couldn't be farther from the point with the way you go on about it." _Maybe Child had some of a point. Nine did notice that he tended to try and be somewhat of a makeshift leader even when One was the official Leader. Maybe it was time that he figured out how he wanted to contribute to the world.

"What do I do well?" He contemplated. "Well… I can't build because Two's the Inventor… maybe I could travel? A traveler!" This seemed great, but then brought its own meaning. "Where could I travel?" He murmured and was suddenly met by, "Not far, I hope!" Five's voice was relief, especially when he sounded like he was having a good day. Nine smiled, "Actually, I was thinking of, I don't know, something to invest some of my time in. Like, you're the Healer, Two's the Inventor, and… And you know."

He explained this with an excited smile and Five seemed equally curious, "You're good at a lot of things, Nine. Maybe you should choose one that won't make you leave." Nine agreed and tried to decipher what he wanted to do. That's when he noticed Seven pass the door and suddenly grew eager, "I was also thinking…" He began with a small smile, "That maybe I haven't been straightforward enough with Seven."

Five perked up significantly as he was presently making his own bed. The Healer usually tended to keep his things organized and must have missed it during an exhausted morning. "Are you going to tell her how you feel?" He asked and his friend was hesitant, "Well… Maybe not right away. I'm sort of afraid that it'll scare her off. Instead, maybe I could spend some time with her, ease it on, and then I'll tell her."

Five loyally nodded in agreement and Nine stood, "Though, honestly, I'm not really sure how to approach this. I know what Seven likes but not like this. Not like, you know…" Five finished, "Romantically?" Nine nodded and the Healer shrugged a bit, "Maybe Three or Four would know." Nine seemed hesitant, "Yeah, but then they'd know about how I feel about Seven." Five, off handedly, answered with, "They already do."

Nine jumped to his feet in horror, "You told Three?!" Five immediately realized his mistake with telling Nine that they knew, but answered quick, "No! Of course not! Just- they- the twins notice things like this- they probably noticed it before." Indeed, most of Seven and Nine's moments were during the Incident, and the twins were present there the entire time. Still, Nine was hoping his feeling weren't this obvious; it was already bad enough that Five figured it out.

That was an awkward conversation. Nine gently tried to tell Five that he liked Seven and thought his friend's silence was from a mutual attraction to the Warrior. It soon turned out that this wasn't the case. Instead, Five had already figured out about Nine's feelings, and didn't want to make his friend uncomfortable by telling him. They were nearly brothers, but not even that saved them from the awkward pause that ensued after the conversation.

Here, though, they were a bit more open now. Nine was still a little unsure whether or not to approach the twins. Five was quite certain, "Seven's like my sister, we've been together a long time, but when it comes to those things I think the twins would know better. They're a bit closer with her. They spent a lot of time with her and with books that talk about romance." The entire explanation sounded like Five was rambling so Nine decided to point out an obvious fact.

"But all the stuff you do for Three is romantic. Like that necklace, she wears it all the time, and when you gave her the flowers, and then you went into that long list of why she was like a flower." Five certainly looked embarrassed now, he had no idea that Nine had heard that, and he coughed a bit. "Well, umm, still, I just said what I thought, I just got her gifts that I thought she'd like from her interests, but Seven might not like the same things as the twins."

"You're right." Nine suddenly announced and stood, "Of course Three and Four would know! They're females, like Seven, so they'll know what romance females like!" Excited, he took out of the room, and Five could only quietly stare as he contemplated Nine's partial understanding of the opposite gender.

* * *

Six awoke to feel warmth around his mid-section and realized that Eight had moved his arm around his waist. The Artist felt the warmth spread across his insides and he smiled a bit. A few seconds passed and suddenly Eight's arm moved away slowly. Only then did Six get a feeling of dread as he realized the gesture had just happened while he was sleeping and not on purpose. Eight was most likely still upset and stubborn enough to drag this out.

The Artist felt as Eight sat up, stood, and started his morning ritual. He decided that pretending he was asleep and giving the other his space would be the best way past all of this trouble. The Guard put on his shoulder guards and hooked on his knife. The magnet was there too, but it was always there, and Eight seldom used it. Besides, Six was aware that Eight preferred using the smaller magnet that he kept hidden under the bed.

As soon as Eight was gone, Six sat up, and slid out of bed cautiously. He grabbed his inkwell and paper from the side and, only then, took in that he was practically living with Eight. His stuff was in Eight's room, he was sleeping in Eight's bed, and it suddenly gave him the urge to hide in his own room for a bit. He glanced inside Child's room across the hall before suddenly pausing. He became curious and stepped past the curtains to see.

Child was sitting on his makeshift bed, wearing the same cape from the night before, though the hood was down, and was half crossed legged. Well, one leg was crossed, while the injured one stretched out in a somewhat comfortable position. He was working with what looked like a stack of metal parts diligently; even the extra arms were out, moving parts, twitching in interest, and Six spoke, "What are you doing?"

Child looked over with this look of alarm before easing, "Working." He answered and the Artist came closer, "On what?" There was a brief pause before Child answered, "Let's say… A gift." Six accepted this and stared at the floor, "Could I draw here? Eight's upset with me and…" He trailed off and Child shrugged, "If you wish, you are welcome to." Six took this and set down on his knees before Child spoke, "Here, you can sit on the blankets beside us- beside me. I do not mind."

Six did so, smiling a bit, and began to work as Child did. Both quietly together.

* * *

Nine sat on the small bed as he tried to continue the explanation while the two girls watched him curiously. He tried to force the words out, "So… I like Seven, but not like normal 'like'. I like her like… Not like a sister, but more like a… Like Five and Three." The two smiled a bit and Nine noticed immediately that neither were surprised. "Can you help me? I know you two know more about what Seven would like and I don't know who else to turn to."

The twins looked at each other and their optics flickered quietly before they turned back to Nine. They both nodded in agreement before standing quickly, beckoning the Stitchpunk to come with them. He did, trusting their judgment, and followed them to the bucket lift in the throne room. He could see that Two was in the Throne Room and Five was now with him. He was speaking pleasantly with the Inventor who was balancing between explaining something and coddling the bump that was the baby.

Apparently, Five noticed them boarding the lift and soon dismissed himself from the Inventor who went to approach One. They were all noticing that One was hovering around Two a lot more today and he even was willing to give Five these strange looks of distrust, even though Five would never do anything to hurt his mentor. The Healer entered the bucket lift and went to address the crank after greeting Three with a, "Morning, Love.' And a kiss to her forehead.

Nine could only watch the two as they moved to the crank, Five turning it as Three rubbed his arms and the part of his back that she could reach under his pack, all while Nine wondered what it would be like to do this with Seven. He wasn't sure if they'd be so affectionate, but he sort of wanted to be, wanted to hold someone close and share his life with someone. The lift lowered into the Library and the group headed towards the back of the Library where the twins kept their most important books.

Among a series of books of fauna, history, and animals the twins retrieved a smaller book that was mauve in color. Opening it up, Nine realized there were no pictures, and it was just a storybook. Five curiously checked the spine of the book by lifting up the cover, "They're fairy tales." He explained and Nine was confused, "What are fairy tales?" Five continued, "They're stories of places that are… I don't know how to describe it… They're fantasy stories about places that are not like here."

He grasped it enough and the twins began to seek out certain stories and had Nine read small tidbits. Mostly, they expressed both men and woman who went lengths to prove themselves to the one they admired. Clearly, the twins were suggesting that Nine would have to show Seven his worth, and do something well enough that she'd see him as the best possible mate.

He continued to read and found a certain trouble with the fairy tales. Most of the events of proving themselves were considerably impossible to him. It wasn't as though he could climb a mountain to win Seven's affection; there weren't any nearby mountains, Nine may have not been physically able, and what was to say that Seven would actually appreciate such a feat. The twins managed to be a step ahead of him, though, and were already retrieving another book.

Nine, though, was the one to find the link. "Wait… Usually two males fight each other over a woman, the winner keeps her hand. That's it!" Five looked confused so Nine explained, "If I do some sparring, like Seven does, and prove that I can hold my own, she'll see that I can and be impressed. Five, let's spar!" Five stared in alarm before answering, "Nine, umm, I don't think we should…"

"You're right." Nine pointed out, "Seven always spars with Eight, so I should spar with Eight and prove my worth." Now the twins looked hesitant because they had noticed an obvious flaw with this plan; Eight had been storming around all morning and was in an obviously foul mood. Nine was still determined and headed towards the bucket lift with the twins and Five following a bit worried.

When Nine entered the throne room and approached Eight who was at his post. Both One and Two were gone so Nine outright approached Eight with a friendly smile, "Hey, Eight!" Eight looked disturbed for some reason. What Nine didn't realize was that Eight and Six were having their dispute, and it was mostly caused by Eight not enjoying Six being gone, for hours, with Nine. As such, he was particularly sore with Nine, and only staying civil because One had warned him not to stress Two.

"Eight, I know you spar with Seven in the mornings. Think you could spar with me?" Eight wasn't pleased with this question and dismissed it, trying to stay civil. "I only spar in the mornings." Nine was determined, though, "Come on, Eight. What harm could it do? I doubt I can do that much damage." This was an innocent comment that Eight suddenly took as an insult. "_Can't do that much damage?" _He thought before voicing, "Alright. Let's go." His voice gave away that he was sounding more and more irritated, but Nine was purposely ignoring it.

Five was beginning to catch on that maybe sparring with Eight wasn't a good idea and approached Nine as the group headed back to the bucket lift. "Nine… I don't think you should do this. This won't prove to Seven that you like her." Nine agreed, "It won't, but it will show that I'm interested in learning how to defend myself, like Seven does." He went to retrieve his Lightstaff as a weapon and headed back to the bucket lift before boarding.

"You're planning to use that?" Eight asked, a growing smirk forming, and Nine looked at his Lightstaff with a bit of discourage, "Well, it's my only weapon, so it would be the best to work with." He caught that Eight was trying to discourage him, but assumed that it was the small comments that Seven and Eight would throw at each other before a battle. Three shook Five's arm and shook her head to insist that he stop the fight, to which Five rested a hand on hers and nodded quickly.

"Maybe we should go look at Two's bump. He says if you listen to it, that you can hear the baby's soul." He tried to persuade and Nine smiled, "When we come back up then we will. I'd like to listen to it. I wonder how long until it'll be a baby." Five shrugged, trying to still interest Nine in the baby, "He said it wouldn't be too long. We're going to work on the crib soon if you'd like to help." Nine nodded, "Sure!"

Five thought he had won, "Great! Let's head back up!" Nine chuckled a bit, "No, not now, after the sparring." He then went quieter, "I know you're a little worried, but it's okay. We're not going to go too rough or anything." Five wasn't too sure if Eight knew this plan, though, especially when they exited the lift and headed towards the open area of the Library. Once there, Eight unsheathed his knife, and Nine got his Lightstaff ready.

A few seconds passed as they stood there and then Nine announced, "Alright. Come at me." Apparently Eight took his fighting very serious as Nine watched him sprint across the floor towards him. He swung his heavy knife down towards the smaller male who managed to duck out of the way. Eight's knife struck the ground and he swung it to the side, the flat side smacking Nine and flinging him a little ways away.

Nine stumbled to his feet and began to fight back, thrusting the Lightstaff at Eight and managing to give him a hard hit to the chest. This was abruptly countered when Eight grabbed the Lightstaff and used his strength to yank Nine and throw him off to the side. This was the second time that Nine was on his back and he managed to stand again. Just to have the Guard coming at him once again, but instead of swinging the knife he merely shoved Nine back hard enough that the burlap one flew off of his feet.

Now Nine realized that Eight was upset with him and all the Guard could think was of that this was the Stitchpunk who drug Six away into the Emptiness. Whatever that was going on with Six had been ruined, and it was all because of Nine. With this 'fight', Eight was finally allowed to vent, and he couldn't control himself. Thankfully, he decided just to put his knife down and use hand to hand combat. Five even tried to come and break the fight up, but Eight blocked him.

The smaller stood and managed to block another shove from his Lightstaff and swung at the Guard who managed to lean back, out of the way, and was already back up. His hand came forward and impacted Nine's shoulder, shoving him to the ground yet again. He wouldn't let Nine get up this time, he was planning on dealing the final blow, and an actual hit of medium strength seemed the appropriate fashion. The Lightstaff was wedged against him to keep him off, but Eight pulled his arm back.

Suddenly, someone was between them, "What's going on here?!" The white blur signaled Seven and the feminine voice only seemed to reassure this. Nine regained compositor, "Hey Seven. We're just having a sparring match." He explained and she glared towards Eight, "It looks more like a fist fight." Eight was obviously annoyed, "It was the only thing I could use against that bulb on a stick of his."

Seven returned an irritated look and Eight put up his hands in defense. He knew better than to fight Seven with them both angry, since they would end up killing each other, and headed back towards the bucket lift to head up to the Sanctuary. Seven turned to Nine, "Are you okay?" Nine jumped up quick, ignoring slight vertigo for being thrown about so much, "I'm fine. Really, Eight wasn't too rough, I could handle it. We might start sparring regularly."

Seven chuckled a bit in relief, "Make sure you don't overdo it." She turned to the approaching twins and Nine could only sigh softly. His plan backfired; instead of impressing Seven, she saved him, leaving him looking helpless.

Time to move on to the next plan.

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**Mable: I will forewarn that this arch will only be three chapters long. However, the next arch is already underway, and that still gives two days of chapters left. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	42. Chapter 42: The Romantic Attempts

**Mable: Next chapter is up! I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

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_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Forty-Two: The Romantic Attempts_

"It didn't work." Nine pointed out for at least the sixth time as he sat in the Library on an unused book. The twins were again going through books to find an answer for his problem. Five looked sympathetic towards Nine, "Maybe that wasn't the right approach." This seemed logical, but a bit obvious, and so he merely nodded without an answer. The twins weren't ready to give up again and they pointed towards yet another book. This time, it was a romance novel, and they were using an ink dipped pen to write certain words down.

This was good, since the book was quite long, and Three and Four picked out a few in particular. Such as 'Candles', 'Rose petals', and 'stars'. Nine didn't really understand what these words meant at first until the twins started to explain to Five who managed to translate. "They think you should do something romantic. Like spend a night outside looking at the stars, or getting her flowers, or something like that."

Nine understood and smiled, "What do you have in mind?" The twins smiled at each other before vigorously pointing to the word 'candles'. Five translated, "We're going to need candles."

* * *

Six was tired of Eight's silent treatment. It was making him weary and he decided to approach Eight once again. The Guard was in his room, frustrated about something that happened with Nine, when Six entered, "Eight?" He asked softly and the Guard looked to him with a blank expression. "Eight, about yesterday." Immediately, Eight protested with an annoyed huff, "I don't want to talk about yesterday. There's nothing to talk about."

He was still upset, but was beginning to cool down by now. Six was still taking it as bad as he could and looked down at the floor beneath him as Eight passed by him to leave the room. "End of story." Eight went to storm down the hall, but found himself lagging. After everything earlier, Eight wasn't exactly still feeling furious, and was even beginning to toy with apologizing to Six. Unfortunately, stubborn pride reminded him that Six would then dismiss the entire event.

So, instead, he decided to keep up the silent bit just a little longer. Just so that Six would understand how upset he was waiting for those hours to pass. He could sleep, he couldn't think, he could just pace the room and wonder if Six was hurt or not. He could just imagine something tearing up the soft, striped canvas that he loved to rub his hands over at night. He blamed Six for making him so reliant on him. Now he couldn't even sleep without knowing where the other was.

That's why Eight was so upset; they had gotten this close and yet Six had recklessly left without a single word. As though Eight wasn't worth telling before he left. It offended Eight to the point that he wanted to show Six how it felt, and thus the silent phase had begun. He played with the idea of keeping it going as long as he possibly could, and finally decided that the longest he could go was a few more hours.

Six, though, couldn't ease up, and was feeling very poorly. Sitting upon the bed he stared at the floor sadly. That's when he noticed something peeking out from the underside of the bed and leaned down. It was the magnet that Eight kept under his bed and Six prepared to shove it back under. Instead, though, he lifted it. He suddenly remembered how he felt the last time he used the magnet and stared at it.

"_I could just…" _He pulled it closer, _"Just a little… Just enough to make me feel better… Just for a second." _He lifted the magnet above his head and could already feel the pull of pleasure. The second the magnet touched his yarn topped head he began to drift off into a cloud of pleasure, forgetting all about his troubles with Eight.

* * *

The evening had fallen upon the Library. It took a few hours to set it all up, but once done it looked quite nice. The twins stacked books on their side to make a closed in area near the pool, Five and Nine retrieved some extra candles, the twins barely wanted to be around the candles but put up with it to arrange them nice, they set up a smaller book like a seat, lit the candles, and decorated the floor with dried flower petals that the twins had brought from Mullerthal and pressed into books.

The small flames looked like beacons against the darkness of the Library and shimmered like stars. Maybe not the same as being under the stars, but between that and the reflection on the water it was pretty nice to see. Just enough that maybe Seven would be swept by such. The twins vouched to go get Seven and scurried off while Five sat down on the book being used as a seat beside Nine. "Are you okay?"

He clearly noticed Nine's hand clenching and the other male nodded, "Yeah, I'm just… Just a little nervous. What am I supposed to say when she comes up?" Five pondered this for a few seconds, "Well… You don't have to say what kind of gesture it is. Just invite her to sit down and talk to her." Apparently, Five knew more about romance than he previously let on, as he was dishing out suggestions as quick as the twins had.

That's when the footsteps returned and Five sprinted off so quickly that Nine suspected he saw a Beast. Instead, though, around the corner appeared Seven who was looking back towards the twins who were clearly coaxing her from behind. She approached and saw the scene that was set up. She looked a bit surprised, but not disappointed, and Nine took Five's advice and acted calm.

"Hey Seven." He greeted and she approached, looking at the candles, "Did you set this up?" In a rush of nervousness, Nine answered with, "I helped the twins. They came up with the design and everything." Honestly, this was the truth, and he scooted over. "Want to sit down?" She nodded and crossed over to do so, her arm brushing his, her body aglow under the flickering flames. The white fabric was dyed a strikingly orange glow that looked warm.

She relaxed enough to take off her bird skull helmet and let it rest at her feet with her staff as she folded her hands across his lap. "It is beautiful." She commented, "The candles and the water. Though I am a bit surprised that they were so willing to be near the flames." Nine nodded, rubbing the back of his neck, "I think that's why they got Five and I to help." She released a soft giggle, like a bell that caused Nine to shiver in delight.

"This was probably set up for Five and her. They're very sweet on each other." Nine chuckled a bit, giving a lopsided smile, "They are. Five's crazy about her." Then his optics shifted to the water before them. He was about to mention how she looked nice without her helmet when she spoke, "I was concerned about Eight and your fight earlier." Nine tried to wave it off, "We were just sparring."

"Eight didn't think that." Seven pointed out, "He never takes our sparring that seriously. He was upset about something and taking it out on you." The burlap one gave in and nodded, "I sort of figured that out halfway through the 'sparring match'. I'm guessing he's mad about something I said." Seven looked knowingly, "Or Six." Nine raised a stitched brow and Seven explained, "He knew Six went with you and must assume that you took him. You know how possessive he's been recently."

"Yeah, but… How do _you _know?" Nine asked curiously and Seven smiled again, "I saw Six sneak out after you." She paused before adding, "I know Six and Child are somewhat close, like you and Child are, so I know me coming would have been intruding." Nine immediately protested, "That's not true." Seven gave a knowing look, "Child and I have our best interactions when we're alone. All of us coming would have only made him uncomfortable."

"…You're right about that." Nine agreed with a small exhale before quietly continuing, "I'll tell you what he told me, but you can't tell any of the others. It was supposed to just be between Child and I, but… I need to tell someone." He voiced something that had been secretly bothering him, "Child told me… That he has the Machine's memories, or some of them, but I just guessed it was because his link with the Machine."

Seven's face showed an internal war. A mix of alarm and suspicion rivaling with the trust she had gained in both Nine's judgment and Child. Finally, the trust won, but the caution seemed to still stay slightly. "How much did he remember?" Nine shrugged, "I told him a bit about the Incident and he filled in the pieces." Seven relaxed, "We know the Machine was connected to him, it probably could have showed him events that were occurring without either really knowing."

Nine nodded in agreement; it wasn't as though the Machine expected Child to escape with the information. "He seemed really concerned about it, so he must have not known that much." They were both sympathetic and eased up a bit. "I should probably talk to him again, but I'm not sure if I'll make it worse." Nine pointed out and Seven reach down to arrange her things, "I would, but I don't think he'd appreciate me knowing. He's much closer to you."

"I know." Nine nodded, "Maybe I should… But I don't think right now's the time." He looked over only to notice, in surprise, that she was now fully dressed and beginning to leave, "Where are you going?" He asked in alarm and she smiled, "I should go check on the twins." Nine sputtered and suddenly announced the most romantic thing that he could, "You look nice." Seven seemed a little bashful and gave a small smile, "Thank you." There was something in the response that made Nine know he got through.

While the entire event didn't go as planned, that had worked out, and Nine was sure that Seven had seen something in him. Then he started back to the book, tripping over himself in an embarrassing display, and yet still managing to feel like he had succeeded, only if it was for a second.

Five and the twins soon peeked out from around the books and approached. "How did it go?" Five asked hopefully and Nine smiled, "We talked a lot… But I told her that I thought she looked nice." The twins looked to be excited about the comment, even though it was just a small sentence. They began to flicker in conversations as they planned the next attempt that Nine would make on Seven. Nine was hopeful, because if he did this much now then perhaps he could do more if he tried again.

* * *

"He's moving." Two mentioned softly as he relaxed back against the wall. He had been sitting on the bench working on a list of supplies and such for the crib, One standing nearby. The Leader moved closer and sat alongside his mate so that he could stroke his swollen abdomen. Inside the Inventor, he could feel the small infant move slightly, a sign that the soul was beginning to fuse with its new body.

The movements soon stop and Two's hand joined with One's, "Now then, where were we? Oh, yes, the nursery. We have more than enough bedding for the crib, but we could use some extra wood, some fine wood, so we can build a stable bed. It will be easy for me to do." One abruptly corrected, "You will not be building it." Two was insistent, "One, I didn't become helpless, I can still work."

"How can you expect to work around this." He gestured to the bump and Two reluctantly agreed, "Yes I… I don't think I'll be able to safely work around him. I will ask Five if he wishes to build the crib." One looked a bit insulted as Two continued to scribble upon the piece of paper before him, jotting down more ideas. "I am capable of using my hands." One reminded and Two chuckled, "You definitely proved that in helping me with his frame, but I doubt you'd enjoy woodworking."

"Enjoy it or not," One retorted, "I can do it and I will do it. He is my son and I will contribute to his comfort as much as possible. As his father it is my duty to do so." Two shrugged a little, not really concerned with who built the crib as long as the crib actually got built. "If you are that determined." One scoffed, "I am. Our son will have the best crib possible, I will be sure to it. We agreed to give him everything and I shall see to it."

Two smiled at him only to blink, "Do you hear that?" It sounded like someone was stumbling down the hall. One wasn't too concerned, "Most likely just Eight or someone."

They couldn't tell that it was Six or why Six was walking so oddly. He was stumbling towards his room, hand over mouth in a pitiful attempt to keep from releasing any noises. The other hand clutched the magnet from before and his optics showed static, a common trait during getting high or after getting very high. Which he was, incredibly intoxicated by a magnet, and feeling great even though he shouldn't have been.

He stumbled inside his bedroom and began to draw on some paper with dry fingers, leaving invisible marks that Six could only see in his delusional state. If One or Two saw him, they'd be very disturbed, while he clearly continued to repeat in his mind that it was fine. It was just making him feel better.

* * *

Nine decided to go check on Child and headed up the lift. He approached his door and knocked on the entranceway. "Child?" Child quickly opened the curtain and faced Nine, looking to be in a good mood, "Nine, yes, you came at the right time. Come in." He opened the curtain to allow the burlap one inside. Nine was a bit confused at why Child wanted to see him so badly, but was pleased to be accepted, and to have Child in an actually positive mood.

"I have been contemplating your enjoyment of training Pet." Child pointed out with a bit of pride in his voice, "You seem to be responsible enough to take full responsibility of a Training Beast." Nine blinked, "A what?" Child explained slower, almost patronizingly, "Pet is a Training Beast. Named because, unlike other Beasts, he is trainable." The zippered one nodded as Child crossed over to Pet's bed, crouching down.

"Wait…" Nine slowly took the words in, "Are you giving me Pet?" Child turned towards him with the Training Beast in his grasp. Nine soon noticed that Pet was still in bed, while the Beast Child was holding was clearly smaller, with mismatched colored parts on it. "It is completely responsive." He explained as he handed it over. Its optic rolled up towards Nine and it clung to the Stitchpunk's front. "It will learn, it will become easier to train, and it will be eternally loyal."

"You made me a 'Pet'?" Nine asked in shock and Child nodded with a small smile. Nine was immediately elated, looking down to the Beast and beginning to pet it lovingly, "Hey there." He greeted and the small Beast made a chattering noise in response, clinging to his chest, and he looked over with a thankful smile, "Why?" Child looked away, but still looked pleased enough, "To return the favor. That is all."

Nine wasn't sure what favor this was and yet wasn't about to argue. "What's his name?" Child corrected, "_Her _name is undecided." A second passed before Nine asked, "You made a female?" The other decided to explain as he seated himself on the floor. "If I made a male, then Pet would fight with it for dominance. This was much easier." While Nine wasn't too sure about Beasts, he understood, and walked over before sitting down, "Alright. So… Names."

He began to contemplate names with scrutiny as he stroked his new Beast's back. "I don't know about a number. She's not a Stitchpunk, so it wouldn't fit. We could call her 'Spider', because she looks like those spiders, the ones the twins have, in the book, they look like that Beast." He offered and Child raised a stitched brow, "She looks little like the Arachnid Beast." He responded and Nine decided to give up trying to explain a 'Spider' creature that he knew little about.

"Well… Hmm… How about that creature on that film? The Wizard of Oz?" Nine offered and Child asked, "The Canine?" The zippered male was alarmed, "That was a Canine?! We were attacked by one of those back at- It's a long story. But, yeah, the little pet of the girl's. It acted a lot like Pet does." Child nodded in contemplation, "Yes. It was named Toto." This didn't sound nearly as good as Nine had imagined, "Toto… Not really a name for a female. Will she mind?"

"I don't believe so." Child countered, "Considering the fact that we are, in fact, named after numbers and titles." Nine nodded a bit and looked down at the small Beast in his lap, stroking over her, "Or… Maybe we could call her 'Canine'. It's a little more female sounding." He immediately winced as he knew what retort was coming. "I agree. 'Nine' is quite a feminine name."

"Toto it is."

* * *

**Mable: Child just won't over this 'feminine Nine' thing, will he? ^-^ Next update shall be up tomorrow as on scheduled. I hope everyone enjoyed! **


	43. Chapter 43: The Beast's Training

**Mable: We're working our way towards the half-way mark slowly, but we'll get there! ^-^ I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Forty-Three: The Beast's Training_

It was so early that Nine couldn't believe Child forced him to awaken. Toto had slept at the foot of his bed and was well behaved. Even Five liked the new addition and gave her a few pets the night before. The twins had seemed interested in what made her a female and curiously examined her underside. One was a bit stricter, insisting that it didn't approach the new baby when he was born, but it was acceptable and understandable.

That didn't very well explain why Child woke Nine so early to begin the training regimen that Toto needed to go through. Nine stumbled about in exhaustion after the white, burlap skinned Stitchpunk. They entered the lift and they lowered down into the Library. Pet had been brought as well and he was curiously looking over Toto who seemed a bit less social. Nine guessed it was because she was still a newborn and unsure. Almost like Nine had been.

They headed outside to the front area before the Library. The sky had a dim glow that was almost unnoticeable and would eventually rise into the dawn. The air was chilled and Nine rubbed his arms to warm them a bit, wishing he had a cloak like Child's. Two was right when he suggested that the summer was ending and leading into the cooler seasons. They were hard to decipher, having little fauna, but the temperature could definitely be felt.

"Pet, here." He said lightly and Pet scurried away from Toto and beside his master. "The first rule is to be firm with your Beast. They are you companion, they must be treated with affection, but without clear commands they will not learn. They do not see being strict, they just see a command. After doing a command correctly you will reward them." He turned to Pet, "Good." He kneeled and stroked his top.

"The first commands to be learned should be simple. Such as 'stay', 'come', and 'no'." Nine tilted his head a bit, "'No' is a command?" Child nodded immediately, "Absolutely. If they do something dangerous or risky, you tell them 'no' and they comply. It is to be for emergencies and should not be overused. However, it will be harder to teach, as you cannot very well correct her until she does something wrong. Instead, we'll start with 'come'."

He faced Pet and stepped away backwards. Nine noticed he kept his hand up in a silent alert for the Beast to stay. Then he spoke, "We won't attempt silent commands yet. Verbal are easier for them to understand. However, using hand gestures can guide them." Child beckoned in a sweeping motion towards himself, "Come, Pet." The Beast scuttled along towards him and stopped at his feet. Toto watched the action in an almost curious way.

"Now you." Child commanded to Nine who noticed he used the same tone as with his Beast. Nine exhaled calmly and gestured in the same way Child did, "Come here, Toto." The Beast didn't even look over. "Say its name first, to catch its attention." Nine, again, spoke, "Toto." He said louder, "Come here." Toto finally looked over, but still didn't approach him. "You're not being firm enough. Remember; this could be a life and death situation."

Now Nine was becoming a little annoyed at Child. It was the middle of the morning, he was exhausted, and becoming a bit agitated with all the commands being thrown at him. "Toto, come here." He said firmly and, finally, the Beast started over towards him, even if she was moving at a slow and relaxed pace. Nine was still thrilled at this and kneeled down. "Good girl!" He praised, stroking her head, "You did great!"

He could clearly tell that Child was not nearly impressed, but understood that this was the first command Nine gave and why he would be so excited. After a few seconds he abruptly spoke, "Now let us continue. Stand." This received direct ignoring.

* * *

"Six?" Eight's voice roused Six from his deep sleep. Last night, Eight had meant to speak to the Artist, but Six had been fast asleep. He had no idea that it was triggered from him coming down from a magnet high. The Artist had a slight ache in his head, but managed to roll over. "Is something wrong, Eight?" He asked gently and the larger male looked to him quietly. Then he exhaled calmly and forced his pride to recede a bit so he could admit the truth.

"I'm sorry." He admitted and Six blinked in alarm, "What?" The Guard rubbed his forehead tiredly, "About how I've been acting; I've been a fool." The Artist softly shook his head in defense, but Eight was insistent. "I was upset about you leaving. I shouldn't have taken it out on you… I should have taken it all out on Nine." This was a pitiful excuse for a joke and the striped one smiled a little, "It was my fault."

"No, it wasn't. I just need to get a grip." He lay back on the bed for a second before continuing on, "I just was a little concerned when you didn't get back." Normally, he wouldn't admit this, but Six was different. He cared about the other and knew that he could trust him. Six slowly slid over in bed and wrapped his arms around the other's stronger arm. He didn't say a word, but it was enough, and Eight pulled him closer.

The fight was over and they could move on. Now Six would be fine, he wouldn't have to use the magnet anymore, he didn't need it.

Or, at least, he didn't need it at the moment.

* * *

"Let us try 'stay'." Child suggested next and turned to Pet, holding his hand still, towards the small one, "Pet, stay." Then, afterwards, he began to walk off. Pet watched while staying in the same location. "Toto barely comes when I call her. Why should I have to teach her how to stay in one spot? Wouldn't she do that naturally?" Nine asked and the other shook his head, "She could wander if she believes you are not commanding her. She could follow or leave and in certain cases this is not acceptable."

He crossed to a few feet away and stopped, "Pet, come." Pet loyally followed and stopped at his master's feet as he waited for a command. "Now you will make an attempt. If she follows, quickly correct it. Begin." Nine turned to Toto and put his hand up, "Toto, stay here, don't move." Then began to back away. "Stop." Child commanded, "If you keep eye contact she will be lured to follow. Try again and this time give her the command confidently."

Nine walked right back up to Toto, "Toto, stay here." Then turned and started to walk towards Child. After only a few steps he could hear her following and turned back, "Toto, no, stay here." Putting his hand up again, he looked away and walked onwards once again. Once again, she followed, and he turned back again, "Toto, stay here." He came closer and rested a hand on her as to keep her in place, "Stay." He stood and started off, she began to move, and he repeated it again.

"Stay." He pressed on her top lightly as though to push her back and stood once again. This time he nearly ran to Child before she could move. Child was giving him a very unimpressed look and the zippered male stopped before him. "There we go." He looked back, seeing Toto was still standing there. "So she knows how to stay now." He pointed out and the other haughtily suggested, "Yes, now bring her over here."

"Alright." Nine accepted the challenge and turned to Toto, "Toto, come here." There was a brief pause before the Beast began to scuttle. Unfortunately, she was not approaching Nine, and was instead wandering around on her own. Once again, Nine ignored Child and his smirk.

* * *

Four had found that Three and Five's romance was actually interesting to watch for ideas to use with Seven and Nine. Especially on a day like today, when Five had some free time to spend with the Librarian. They were down in the library looking at a book, leaned against each other and scanning over the novel pleasantly. Every once in a while one of them would point out a scene and give the proper emotional response.

Being a fantasy book, they were usually looking either excited for something or smiling pleasantly. This interested Four to a great extent. Perhaps Seven and Nine reading a book together would bring them together in such an intimate way. An adventure story would probably suit both Nine's wonder of exploration and Seven's interest in excitement. Four knew she had quite a few of them left around the library and began to look.

After a while, she was soon joined by Three, who gave Five a small kiss as he went to go see Two. She marked the book on the page they were and followed after her twin. Apparently, she had the same feelings, and they began to look through the books. Soon, Three suggested that perhaps they find a book with an undertone of romance, as it would push the two together on a subconscious level. Four vigorously agreed.

They began to narrow it down to two books in particular. The first was a dramatic book with heavy romance and a bit of adventure. The second was heavy adventure and had the smallest slither of romance. It was another fantasy, the second one, so they decided to go with that one first. It was then that the two decided to go through the reasons Nine and Seven were compatible. They decided to do this to help them come with more ideas.

They first started with Seven's almost closed in behavior and caution while being in the Emptiness a sharp contrast to Nine's more reckless views and wish to travel. Three even pointed out that Five told her Nine mentioned wanting to be the 'Traveler'. Four reminded that, even though cautious, Seven did enjoy freedom and wished to travel just as much as Nine did. It was simply in more moderation instead.

Three agreed and pointed out that it was almost love at first sight, since Nine feel for Seven almost right after he met her. This was agreed on by both and they had matching smiles. It took Seven a bit more to be swept away, she was still playing as though she was oblivious, but this was because she was a single female among many males. While none of them made advances, she had to keep her defenses up, to keep the best suitor in mind.

A pause passed before the twins suddenly went quiet. Something started to stir as they quietly mentioned that Nine wasn't the only male Stitchpunk who could make a good candidate as a mate. Three voiced that she felt badly for Nine, but mentioned that if they pushed her into mating with him too fast that they may not turn out right. That would hurt much more for Nine than it would if they didn't end up together.

Four pointed out that it was only right if they gave Seven a chance with another suitor. Either she'd enjoy this other male more, or it would make her like Nine more. They both agreed; since Seven was not yet tied to a mate. It could be risky, but they would attempt to keep everything calm and keep anything from going wrong. With that, Three and Four marked the book, and went to plan once again.

* * *

"Now, we will begin something a bit more difficult." Child suggested with an unenthusiastic look, "Commanding your companion to go before you to a location." He looked a bit tired, possibly for the hours they had spent out in the morning sun. "Pet," He called to attention and pointed at a nearby statue, "Go to the statue." He began to run and the Stitchpunk turned to Nine, "They can understand speech well enough, so as long as you are directing towards the object they will learn to see the object as such."

Nine nodded from his position from the entranceway, sitting in the shade beside Toto who was resting against his thigh. He began to stand to his feet and watched as Child called for Pet to return. The small Beast returned and climbed up Child's back as the male sat down on a broken piece of cement. Nine now turned to Toto, "Toto, go to the statue." He commanded, pointing towards the statue that Pet went to, and the small Beast didn't move.

Nine exhaled tiredly and kneeled down before nudging Toto's side. "Come on, Toto, this is the last one." Child chimed up, "I did not say that." With this, Nine looked up at the other male, "This is the last one." Child scoffed, "If you would be that firm with Toto, we'd be finished by now." At this the zippered male looked away and turned back to Toto, "Come on, girl, go to the statue, please." The small Beast still didn't budge and Nine slowly nudged her along.

Soon he hooked his hands under her frame and somewhat carried her all the way over to the statue, having her bump the statue, and then walking her back to Child. "That was particularly lazy." Child responded; a mix of a compliment and an insult. Nine huffed, "Yeah, well, I do a lot of things when I'm exhausted. You should see on the nights when I don't sleep at all." He stumbled back inside the Library and Child followed.

"Do you plan to go back to bed in the middle of the day?" Child questioned in confusion and Nine smiled, "Actually, I'm going for a swim. Want to come?" Child immediately was suspicious, "You have never mentioned learning how to swim." The zippered one shrugged a bit as he felt Toto climb up his legs and onto his back. "Not really, but as long as I don't go in deep it should be fine."

They approached the pool and Nine set Toto down before sitting on the side, dangling his legs in the water. "Is she doing well?" He asked the makeshift mentor who responded with a curt nod. "For her age, yes, she is doing well. There is much more work to be done, though." Nine smiled once again, "I think we can handle it. Don't you?" Child was about to respond when he noticed that they were being approached by the twins.

They were looking oddly curious, but Child didn't seem bothered or uncomfortable. That was because the twins were outright scanning Child with their optics, flickering, and he quietly stepped towards the zippered male in an attempt to have them change their view. Nine slipped into the water and his plan was ruined. The zippered male submerged himself to slightly above the middle of his chest. His zipper pull brushing the water.

The two Training Beasts were somewhat examining each other, wandering around in circles, and Child tried to keep his mind on them as the twins managed to move in closer. They were now fondling his cloak and examining it before moving onto the closed openings on his back. The second one of the hooks was popped open; he pulled away out of reflex. A second passed of silence before he averted his optics to the floor in a submissive gesture and fixed the hook again.

"Want to come in?" Nine asked playfully, directed at the twins, and they soon began to nod a bit. They now were smiling again and approach the edge of the water before helping each other in. Child felt the need to say something, "Careful. It may be too deep for you." The girls looked to him, looked to each other, and then gave kindly smiles with a nod of agreement, showing that they were planning to be careful.

Something about that exchange of looks made Child feeling incredibly uneasy. He was not entirely sure, but he was beginning to believe that they were studying him for some reasons. He was more than willing to pass this off as child-like interest in another being of the same species, but a small lingering of paranoia prodded and suggested that, perhaps, they were trying to study him out of suspicion. After all, they had gone straight towards the Machine limbs, and those made him feel uncomfortable under normal circumstances.

Three bobbed about in the water first, managing to keep herself above by kicking her feet a bit. Four then also climbed down and mimicked her twin's actions. Their hands stayed locked as they tried to move after Nine who was now approaching Child, "Are you going to just sit there and watch us have fun?" He asked teasingly and Child gave as much of an annoyed look as he could manage after his incident with the twins.

"If I wanted to get drenched by throwing myself in the water then I'd chose better suited company." He then promptly looked to the twins, "Such as you two." This was a small attempt to seem like a normal Stitchpunks and the twins accepted it with small flashes that signaled giggles. Nine shook his head, still smiling, and turned to the younger girls to address them. Child busied himself by discarding his cape and quickly washing it in the pool.

It wasn't until a bit later that the twins began to speak once again. They were discussing what Seven was like. The Warrior was quite bright and, occasionally, standoffish. She was a bit unknown in the way of love and trying to slowly become accustomed to living as a family after so long of being reclusive.

Oddly enough, this was just like Child.

Three and Four had a new plan.

* * *

**Mable: That's not good, in the slightest, but at least the twins are staying open-minded. As we walk around the elephant in the room involving Six, let me say that the arch has ended. However, I will be posting the next arch a day early, and will be trying to make it longer than this one. Next Thursday it is! I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	44. Chapter 44: The Twins' Quest

**Mable: Here's chapter forty-four! I'd say it like 'here's Johnny', but I'm not sure how to write it out to have actual impact… Ah, anyway, I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Forty-Four: The Twins' Quest_

It was afternoon and warm enough that the twins' fabric had finally dried. The two twins were, again, looking at a book, but this time their interests had changed. While, yes, they were still attempting to have Seven be courted by Nine and, shockingly, Child, they now decided that they needed to change their view. They had been so focused on how the male would court the female that they clearly forgot that Seven would too have to give.

They knew how as well; they wanted to make her look lovely. Enough so that she would impress any male with the smallest of looks. Of course, Seven was already beautiful, but they were trying to find small accents so that all of the others would notice as well. Such as, both noticed Nine lit up when Seven wasn't wearing her bird skull helmet, and maybe Child too would do so. Three was still skeptic about trying to have them both court Seven, but Four insisted that Seven needed to have a choice.

Soon something was found in particular, clothing, and the twins believed it would assist Seven's charm. There came the plan to search any nearby houses for toys left behind by human children. In particular, they would look for dolls, and strip them of their clothing to bring back for the Warrior. It seemed perfect. They suggested going out alone, deciding to learn from past mistakes and stay more careful, hiding most of the time.

They also left a note that clearly printed, in quite nice handwriting, about their whereabouts. "_We are going out for a little while. We will be careful and stay out of sight. Should be back in a few hours at most. Sincerely, Three and Four." _Though they did also sign with a '3' and a '4' at the bottom as well. It seemed simply enough, would clearly state they weren't running away, which they didn't want the other to suspect and follow.

Four did manage to remind Three that this was exactly what happened when the fire started; they had been going off on their own. Three encouraged with the suggestion that they wouldn't be anywhere near the others and, thus, couldn't injure them. This time they would be completely on their own and be able to fully take care of themselves. They were certainly excited, but wise enough to bring a weapon, a letter opener that they had kept with their other collected belongings for so long.

They used their scale to bring themselves up to the level of the correct shelf. Entering in they looked at their collection. This area was left mostly for old envelopes, stamps, ink pads that had long ago dried out, and even old seals used for envelopes. The letter opener was the prize object in this section of their mass of history. It was silver in color and had a twisted handle that turned into a rather sharp point at the end. It would work well for a weapon.

Both holding their letter opener, they headed outside the Library as though it was nothing, wandering out and stopping at the edge of the gate outside. That's when they halted immediately. The warm, afternoon sun was relaxing, but already starting to tilt away from Noon clear enough that they knew they only had a few hours before sunset. Four at most. Three felt a sudden guilt as she remembered how concerned Five had been and wanted to go straight back inside.

Instead they looked to each other before slowly beginning to head towards the closest, stable building. While it was the closest, it was barely in sight at all, and they decided to hurry their steps. After a short while they began to relax and move at their own pace, looking at the world around them with new optics. They never got this much time to search. This much freedom to examine everything around them so fluidly.

Four stopped to examine a broken down car while Three looked up towards the sun. She eased a bit in noticing that barely any time had passed, and followed her sister's lead. They searched the interior, touched the rims of the tires with curious flashes, and finally ended with taking a bulb out of the headlight. It would work for Nine's Lightstaff and could be useful for other things. Even as mere Librarians, they could prove to the others that they would make decent scouts if they brought something back.

It was around that time that they found the little box. Four was the one to go towards it, leaving the bulb with her sister, and eased the side of the small package open. Immediately, out spilled a small mound of buttons, and Four perked at them. She playfully showed Three one, asking her if they looked like Five's, and watched as her sister looked embarrassed yet again, a small shy smile stretching across her face.

Four made small comments about how they certainly did look like Five's as she gathered a few off of the ground and put them inside her front. They were in a variety of colors and sizes, so they didn't look exactly the same. She still knew the comment possibly teased her sister even more who didn't approach the box at first. Once Four was finished, she took the letter opener from her twin and led her along farther.

After a few seconds, Three approached the box and shuffled around inside. Soon she found one that looked about the same size and colors of Five's. After making sure Four wasn't looking she held it close as though hugging it, laid a small kiss upon it, and slipped it inside her front as well. Then she hurried to catch up with the other female.

So far, everything was going pretty well.

* * *

Boredom was, once again, driving Six to have the same urges as before. Instead of focusing on his drawing his mind began to wander and eventually went back to the magnet. He wanted it, badly, and he clutched his key tightly as he remembered the feeling of euphoria. The pleasure, the pressure, the height; it was amazing and wonderful. Suddenly he knew that he had to have it and quietly scanned the room.

He could clearly see that One allowed Two to rest on his throne. Unfortunately, Two randomly fell asleep, which drove One to find somewhere else to sit. Eight was left to watch Two and was calmly sharpening his knife in the corner. Six's breath quickened as he stood. He knew Eight was looking at him and decided to speak to himself loud enough for the other to hear, "Need's the blue paint." He gave no indication that he was paying attention to Eight and calmly left the room.

As expected, Eight went back to his work, and Six cautiously watched from the hall before creeping into Eight's room. He took the spare magnet in his grasp and exited again, knowing that his room was the safest to work in. He passed the workshop quietly as he could hear Nine and Five talking from inside. They didn't hear him as he headed the rest of the way and hid inside his room. He carefully shut the curtain and went to sit down on his now permanently tilted bed.

He was shocked at how much his hands shook as he stared at the object in his hands that was luring him closer than ever. There was no denying it, he needed the magnet, needed it more than anything else. Finally he pressed it to his yarn locks and watched as his world vanished into a blur of nothingness. He felt a few bubbly chuckles escape his lips as he swayed in losing what little of his balance he had.

He managed to stay on the titled bed, though. Somewhat, at least, as he slid down the mattress and watched as the blankets and thin sheets were drug off with him. It seemed hilarious and he reached over and ripped them all down with him, purposely, watching as his pen tipped fingers tore through the flimsy fabric. Six rolled back onto the floor on a sheet of unfinished drawings and dried ink. One hand was constantly trying to stabilize himself while the other hand held the magnet to his head.

That was, until it was ripped away. Six's optics slowly focused in and he looked up only to see Eight standing above him. Eight's look of alarm was only met by Six's look of horror, scuttling back towards the wall, still incredibly high. "What were you doing?" The Guard asked in shock, still not blowing up at the smaller Stitchpunk. His voice obviously showed disturbance and Six stuttered, "I was- I just- I was trying, trying to, just to, I was bored and I… I was just trying it a little."

He showed a small space with his fingers as he stumbled to his feet. He was still clearly intoxicated and Eight asked, "How long have you been using this?" Six shrugged a bit and looked at the floor. "Six." Eight pressed, firmer, and Six winced. Even being high he didn't want Eight to be angry. "A few days." Eight shook his head and threw the magnet into the corner, "You aren't doing it anymore." He stated and Six nodded.

"Are you mad at me?" Six asked pitifully, sounding like he was about to cry, and Eight exhaled calmly, "I'm not mad. I'm upset, yeah, but I'm not mad." He was rubbing his head in stress before asking, "How many days?" Six shrugged again, head rolling about, muttering out, "I'm tired." Eight exhaled calmly, "You know, you can get hook on that thing, and you're acting like it. How many days exactly?"

In answer, Six giggled a bit, "You said hook, but a magnet isn't a hook, it gets magnetized like a… Like a magnet?" After that, the next thing Six knew he was being picked up, "What are we going?" He asked incorrectly and Eight huffed, "You're going to go sleep this off, now." Thankfully, Six didn't argue. He was already asleep by time they reached the room.

* * *

The twins arrived at the dilapidated house and had been slowly examining what was left behind. It was quite under whelming. The entire building had fallen in, the rooms were filled with trash, and they could find little except for a few, old, worn clothes. They were dirty and had a few stains, but absolutely not able to be used because they were human sized. Coming to terms with their investment, Three and Four cut some of the cloth free and wound it into bundles.

In an almost playful gesture, they made thin strands and tied the bundles together into one large bundle and gave it a strap to carry it with. Three volunteered to carry it and Four volunteered that she looked remarkably like Five. It was then that they came to terms that the building had nothing else in it and that they'd have to keep looking. Soon, Four suggested that they split up briefly.

Three was hesitant, but nodded in agreement, and soon was holding the light bulb and letter opener as her sister rushed off to scout, making little clinking noises from the buttons in her front. Three couldn't say she wasn't a bit concerned.

* * *

Six awoke with a start and felt his body shiver in protest. Something was absolutely wrong, he was twitching, and there was something he needed. Eight was nearby in the corner, sharpening his knife, but the Artist barely noticed him. He sat up, gasping and choking. "Eight…" He managed to get out, "Eight… E-Eight, help, I don't- I can't- breathe." He felt his breathing get a bit uneven and he trembled. "Something's wrong- _Something's wrong!"_

"Easy, easy!" Eight was at his side in a second, "Just lay back down." Six thrashed a bit as the larger pressed him back onto the bed, "I knew this was going to happen." The Guard murmured as the smaller continued to protest against the other's grasp. "I can't breathe." He whimpered and Eight talked calmer. "There's a reason I didn't want you on that thing. You used too much. Way too much. This is what happens when someone as small as you uses enough to knock me out."

Six was twitching even when he tried to relax and he pitifully groaned against the movement. He had known something was going to come if he used too much. He released a few dry sobs as his body protested against him, "Will it stop?" He managed to get out. Eight was staring at another part of the room, watching in confusion as his knife began to move on its own. "Yeah… Yeah, it's just some withdraws and some… What in the…"

The knife teetered back and forth with Six's twitches and Eight grasped that it was the telekinesis acting up, only hoping it didn't suddenly zoom over and impale him as he was assisting the Artist. Suddenly, the smaller managed to stop twitching, and the knife toppled over to the ground. Six didn't look much better, though, "My head hurts." He complained, "And I feel, ah, hot. Inside me."

For some reason Eight suddenly thought Six was talking about something completely different and stared in shock, but soon managed to suppress this as he realized that he as clearly not talking about what the Guard thought. "It'll get better." Eight insisted, watching Six continue to breathe labored breaths, and wishing that this would pass quicker. Since he had no idea how much Six had been using, he couldn't yet judge.

* * *

Four was sure she heard something as she circled around the building, only to freeze up as her optics landed on the source of the noise. She knew it was the same Cat Beast from before from the brace around its neck and began to stumble back. It was shuffling through the frame of a larger Machine that the twin could see little of, retrieving parts out of it. Four was a little curious, but was much more fearful and tried to quietly move away.

It was able to hear the slightest footfalls and its head perked up. It listened for the small doll with careful receptors. Four managed to hide behind the tire of the nearby car and waited for the Beast to either continue its work or leave. It did neither. Instead, she could hear it suddenly jump up onto the car's frame, sulking across the top and looking at the surrounding area. The Librarian knew that she was trapped by it.

She moved underneath the car and crossed the rubble covered street below, seeing the nearby wall and scanning it for an escape. She noticed a small metal grate nearby and knew that if she could get into it that she'd be safe. She started moving slowly towards the grate, crossing quietly, when it saw her. The Cat Beast leapt down and landed heavily on the ground behind her before swatting at her.

Four skidded across the ground and hit the brick wall beside the grate as the Cat Beast watched. It didn't even seem like it was really hunting, just unenthusiastically watching. Then Four managed to actually throw herself at the flimsy grate and started to tug it up. Now the Beast noticed and took another swipe. Four managed to duck back and watched as the Beast hit the flimsy grate, causing the bars to open enough so that she could promptly slip in.

Underneath was a very narrow tunnel filled halfway with running water. It smelled metallic, like a copper coin, and she quickly drug herself through as the claw began to repeatedly plunge into the grate. Three, meanwhile, managed to just come up as the Cat Beast was stabbing at the grate, and realized that her twin had managed to slip away. With this, she managed to edge back to a nearby ally, and decided to meet up with her twin another way.

Four pulled her way through the tunnel, heading towards whatever lie ahead. 'Whatever' appearing awfully quick as an even smaller grate. Pushing it upwards, she was able to slide out, now in a back alley behind the building that had previously helped the beast corner her. The way to the right, which would lead her farther from the Cat Beast was completely and utterly blocked off with debris and rubble. Left was the only option.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what the Cat Beast was thinking, and it walked right before her path. Thankfully, it didn't manage to see her and she hopped behind the few stairs that led to a backdoor that was falling apart. It was seconds from coming her way when a small crumbling noise came from nearby wall of debris. The Cat Beast quickly scaled the opposite building, wandering along a thin ledge, and was gone. Most likely to stalk what made the noise.

Four wasn't stupid. She knew that there was only one thing that could've made that noise, her twin. Her optics began to vigorously flash, she began to jump up and down repeatedly, and somewhat call for Three to be weary as in only seconds there would be a Beast coming upon her. Out of nowhere, Three appeared over the wall of debris, hopping down whatever jutted out most like a ledge to reach the ground.

In response to Four she tossed the bulb into her hands, grabbed her wrist, and the two began to sprint wherever they could. Interest led them both back to the rickety door. They were able to climb up separately and approached the wooden door. They could hear that the Cat Beast had cleared the wall and knew that it would soon be upon them. Four slipped under the door quickly while Three shoved the letter opener under while following suite.

They were able to run out of the way just in time to see desperate claws appear. They left deep marks in the floor as they searched for the dolls that scurried back under a nearby table and hid under the low hanging tablecloth. Thankfully, the Cat Beast retracted, howling in frustration, and seemed to wander off. They doubted that it went far. Instead, they held onto each other, and waited for whatever would come to pass.

* * *

**Mable: Two little dolls out in the Emptiness alone, this can't end well… Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed, and the next chapter will be up tomorrow! By the way, if anyone would like to encourage with reviews, I would enjoy it. That doesn't mean I will stop uploading without them or anything; just a small prod. ^-^ *prods* **


	45. Chapter 45: The Nightmarish State

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Forty-Five: The Nightmarish State_

"Eight?" Six called as he sat up in bed and looked at the surroundings. Something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Instead, he began to slowly sit up, and realized that he was able to move freely without any pain or trouble. The effects had to have finally worn of and he started to head towards the throne room. Upon entering the throne room he noticed that it, too, was empty. "Eight?" He called a bit louder, looking around, and couldn't get any response.

Looking back into the hall he noticed that it was quite dark, the few lights having going out, and the only door with light coming from it being his bedroom. This suggested that, perhaps, everyone was asleep and his light had been left on. That didn't explain where Eight was so Six guessed maybe he was in Six's room retrieving the magnet. Six headed down the hallway towards the bedroom with the light and pushed open the curtain.

That's when he noticed something was wrong. Looking around at the picture lining the walls he noticed that they all seemed to be floating in midair, the drawings actually outside the paper, and his mismatched optics scanned them. No longer were they of scenery and now nearly of the same Talisman mark over and over again. Six gaped in alarm, "I'm… Dreaming?

With that _the floor opened up._

_He sunk into the wooden floor like it was thick mud that was overtaking his form and dragging him into whatever cavern was beneath. Then, suddenly, he dropped, falling into nothingness, a twist of black figures circling around his frame. Then, just as abrupt, he was standing in his room again. This wasn't his normal room either; it was the room from back in the Cathedral. He stared into the throne room without moving._

_Nightmares were quite simple and predictable. If he stayed here and waited, nothing would happen, but it would probably feel like an eternity until he awoke. Instead, he knew that he'd have to find out what the nightmare meant, because usually they meant something. He began to cross forwards into the center of the throne room. Empty, again, and he looked up to see the stained glass window broken through. Outside the sky was tinted as though either sunrise or sunset, perpetually the same color as well._

_A soft noise from the bucket lift alerted him and he looked back to see nothing, save the lift rising up into the throne room. He stared at it a few seconds before entering inside, waiting for anything, and anything came. The surroundings burst into flames as the bucket lift dropped down the shaft. The flames occasionally looked like hands, reaching from over the bucket's rim toward Six, and he could only drop down to try to avoid them._

_Looking up he could see explosions from above in the Cathedral, though the lift's rope never broke. Soon in slammed onto the ground and the lift door swung open for Six to exit. He was cautious to do so, but peered out at the surroundings, and wasn't pleased at what he saw. Everything was shrunk down in the Cathedral like he was the size of a human, wandering through the large building._

_The sound of gunfire could be heard outside along with banging on the walls and door. Voices screamed out above the noise in utter horror. "Sanctuary! For the love of God, Sanctuary!" Then, abruptly, there was the sound of a loud explosion, shaking even Six who was heading towards the door at the time, and it silenced all of the voices at once. The bullets died down. As Six opened the door there was nothing but silence._

_He was back to his proper size by time he stepped outside and only noticed it for a second as he realized that he was in a random section of the Emptiness. There were towering buildings around him, falling apart even as he watched them, and he looked ahead only to freeze. _

_It was the Stitchpunk with the glowing optics. _

_It stood about fifteen feet away, staring at him blankly, and Six suddenly burst out in a run, "It's you!" He called, a smile starting to form. Perhaps his dream would give him the answers that he needed. Instead, the Stitchpunk started to run between two of the buildings. "No, wait!" Six called, "I can find you! Please, tell me where you are! I can…" He trailed off as he noticed that the Stitchpunk was clearly leading him in a very dark alley._

_An obvious trap that Six merely followed into. "I know this isn't real." Six called out, "You can't scare me. Not anymore. I know this is just… Just me…" He rubbed his striped arms, "Just me… Alone here." Something about that made him feel a bit helpless. He was completely alone in this world and lacking any kind of control. He entered into the dark alley and watched as the light narrowed down to a thing sphere around his frame. An orange tinted glow, like a match, but he clearly didn't have one._

_That's when the world caved in to nothing more than a tunnel. Six could actually touch the walls as on each sides and feel nothing but rubble of possibly cement or rocks. He soon ended up in a small room and looked around. The second he was about to speak he heard a coughing noise. Looking around he could see that someone was nearby. A Stitchpunk that he identified as Child. "Child?" He asked meekly._

'_Child' rolled his head around towards Six slowly and the Stitchpunk was met with a grotesque sight. His optics were completely dilated and black liquid leaked out of their depths. The same liquid was also spilling from his front and he let out another cough, releasing a puff of colored air. It smelled like the chemicals that killed the humans. Six recoiled back and the other male smiled at him, "Are you scared yet?"_

_What horrified Six the most was that it wasn't Child's voice. It was his own, but it wavered in distortion. With that Child started to change, body crunching as he twisted around, fingers growing in length, and Six cried out in horror before turning back the way he came. He felt his way back to the tunnel and began to scramble through. To his shock, it must have been a separate tunnel, as it began to grow smaller, until he had to crawl. _

_His knees hurt from the cement scraping on them as he scratched at the ground. It got to the point that he was no longer crawling, now just trying to wiggle through the small gap, hearing something closing in behind. Rushing closer until it hit him. To his alarm, it wasn't the creature; it was thick liquid that shoved him forward out of the tunnel. He didn't realize he was so close to the end and soon fell a foot or so to a hard ground of tile, like the Library's floor. _

_Since it was head first, Six unfortunately landed in a very painful position. His head slowly rose off the ground with a tired look as he scanned the new area. The liquid that shoved him in looked clearly like ink more than oil and began to puddle out around him. He pulled himself onto his knees and rubbed his yarn topped head before looking around the room. It was a large open area like the Library. In fact, when looking up he could see distant windows._

_Outside the sky was turning a reddish color. Six couldn't tell if it was a radiant sunset or if it was an unnatural tint. It was too bizarre, and he looked around the room to see something nearby. There was a large Cat Beast, standing still, over two smaller dolls. He approached carefully and soon realized that the Cat Beast was fake, though looked quite real, and the two dolls beneath it were mere plush ragdolls._

_Looking closer he could see hoods like Three and Four's, but no facial features of any kind. Even odder, Four's right arm and Three's left were sewn together, both lacking hands. Six reached down and poked at Four's front, expecting something to happen. Nothing came of the action and he looked up at the Cat Beast. It was completely unmoving so he began to ease around it. _

_He started to walk away and looked around at the surrounding area. Looking upwards, he could see the Winged Beast, suspended from some wires above the ground. Its head was missing and Six shivered at the sight before continuing to search around. He could see the entrance nearby and a red glow being cast from outside, deciding not yet to venture back out into the Emptiness. Instead, he began to circle around the room._

"_Somewhere over the rainbow…" He sung to himself quietly, nervously, "Way up high…" Something was in the corner, a large shape in the darkness, "There's a land that I…" He went silent as he approached what looked like the Seamstress. Or, at least, it looked like part of the Seamstress. That is, if the Seamstress was decapitated and had the rest of its body reared back in an arch, arms hanging limp, and its insides and tail swollen in a large lump._

"_That I…. heard of once in…" Six forced out the words as he backed away a few steps, "In a lullaby…" His voice choked off as he noticed the lump move a bit, like the Seamstress was moving a Stitchpunk body inside its own, or what was left of its own. The Artist didn't want to move as he knew that it would trigger something to happen. Looking back he could see the entranceway nearby and looking quite helpful at the moment._

_Six watched the Seamstress as he inched towards the exit. That's when the lump moved once again. Something ripped through the fabric of the front, sharp and long, and Six recognized it as a knife. It slowly slid downwards and cut open the Seamstress before something large fell through. It wasn't until after it hit the ground, landing in a kneeled position, that it was Eight. Six gasped a bit and found himself coming forward, "Eight?"_

_He should have known better, he certainly scolded himself as soon as he realized his action, and yet Six couldn't deny that his mind had hit a weak spot upon him. Eight didn't look right. His front was sewn tightly with red thread and as he looked up Six was horrified to see that his mouth was too. It looked like a patch was sewn over his present optics and was sewn into his fabric as well. All the same red thread that. He stumbled back as the Guard stood to his feet._

_Then, all at once, Eight was staggering towards him, dragging his knife limply._

_Six didn't need any more of a warning as he spun on his heel and headed towards the exit of the Library. Eight was moving slow enough that Six knew he could outrun him and dashed towards the Library entrance which he noticed was beginning to slowly close up. "No!" He cried out, "No, no, stop! Stop this!" He screamed to anyone and received no answer. He watched as the doorway slid farther closed and made it just in time to slide through. _

_The knife came out after him in a desperate attempt to stab and only missed out of mere chance. The doorway closed, the knife slid in, and Six stumbled to his feet. This time he was clearly outside the Library and the world looked somewhat normal. The bizarre red glow to sky took a more natural look and was now appearing more like a sunrise or sunset again. As he started onwards he could hear Eight's voice come through the crack in the door behind him._

"_Come on, Freak. Don't run from me. You can't get far."_

_Six trembled and continued along away from the other male. The Emptiness looked especially empty with little rubble or buildings. He stumbled forward a little bit before meeting a pair of glowing optics again. The same Stitchpunk as before appeared, watching Six from a few feet away, and the striped male approached cautiously. He walked slowly along towards him and wasn't surprised when he looked away._

_Six wasn't sure, but it felt like a male, but he couldn't grasp a name. Instead he continued to hear something gnawing at the back of his mind and eventually blurted out. "Source…" It was a soft word and didn't trigger anything to occur. A few minutes of walking passed before he arrived at none other than the phonograph. Six wandered up and was surprised to see that he wasn't alone. _

_There was One sitting on a bottle, Two beside him, the twins upon the spinning record, Five looking through the records, Seven sitting nearby watching the twins, and Nine staring out towards where the trench would be. Six wasn't completely sure why Two was there, as he wasn't present during the Incident, but had a feeling why Eight wasn't there. Looking careful, he could clearly see Child standing far away, by the bridge crossing the trench, and was what Nine was looking towards. _

_Child wasn't distorted as he was before. Instead, he just stared back towards Nine, and Six decided to quietly mind himself. He found that, in nightmares, not being the center of attention was often a good thing. Looking back at One and Two, he noticed what looked like a small blurred area between them, but he didn't want to study it too long. It was then that Six listened carefully to the song playing from the phonograph. It was 'Somewhere over the Rainbow', but clearly himself singing it, and he wandered up to Five. _

"_Can we listen to something else?" Five looked at Six in alarm, but didn't change or anything, and instead asked in confusion, "Six didn't you go to look for Eight?" The Artist paused before smiling a bit, "I… Yeah… I didn't find him, though." The Healer shrugged it off, "He's probably nearby. I wouldn't worry. Look, I found this other record that's in really good condition. I could get the twins to turn it on." Six nodded in agreement with a smile. _

_He wasn't planning on getting too comfortable when he knew he was still in a nightmare but did hope this was a turning point. Perhaps he could stay around the others and not have to deal with the horror. Until, he heard three terrifying words. "Is that Eight?" Seven's voice seemed alarmed and Six was somewhat grateful that she was acting normal too. He still rushed over to the edge of the Phonograph and peered out in the direction he had arrived from. _

_One, Two, and the blur which was clearly a being, stood and stared out at what was clearly Eight lumbering closer. That's when One added, "There is something wrong with him!" Six didn't need to wait until Eight got closer, as he knew that he wasn't going to look right. He began to run towards the trench, looking ahead at Child who was still waiting beside the bridge. Once he got about five feet away, Child randomly fell backwards, into the trench below, but all Six could think of was escaping Eight._

_He was quicker now, as Six could already hear his thumping footsteps close behind him, and suddenly he was yanked back. The key around his neck tightened like a vice as he was pulled onto his backside. Looking up he could see Eight standing above him, holding his knife high above his head, and he tried to pull away. That was, until he heard the taps upon the bridge. Looking forward he could clearly see a hand gripping onto the bridge. However, it wasn't Child's, as Child was the one who fell into the trench. _

_It looked terribly like Six's. As it pulled itself up, Six was met with himself, looking worse for wear. His optics were either gone or completely sunken in as they looked like mere black holes in his head. His fabric was hanging from his body, burnt perhaps, or maybe darkened solely from what looked to be ink. When it drug itself up the rest of the way Six noticed that its lower half was see-through, like a bottle, and filled to the brim with ink. It was disturbing to say the least and Six felt his breathing speed up. _

_He could resist Eight, and the other Six was slowly beginning to approach Six in a slow motion, walking as though he was limping. He closed in to the point that Six could hear the wheezing breathing coming from its frame. "I can't breathe, Eight." It murmured in a voice like Six's, "I can't breathe." Then, suddenly, it reached forward, and Six dropped down, Eight having finally releasing him, and covered his head in fear. He tried to scramble away and found that nobody was stopping him. _

_Once a small ways away, he looked back, and felt his fear dissipate into confusion. The other Six and Eight were looking at each other even though they both had obviously damaged optics. The other Six reached up and brushed his ink tip fingers over Eight's cheek. Six noticed the fingers were all broken, but it didn't seem to matter as the nightmare took an unexpected turn. Eight reached out and grabbed the other Six's arms to pull him closer. His sewn tight lips brushed the other Six's, who's parted and spilled ink down his front. _

_Six should've been scared, but was instead unsure how to feel, especially as the two continued to meet their lips in the oddest exchange of kissing that soon changed the nightmare to a much different dream. It actually didn't seem so bad anymore. After all; even though he was in the closest thing to purgatory as he could imagine, at least he, or the other he, had Eight with him._

_Then, suddenly, Six's _optics opened.

The headache was obvious and he didn't feel comfortable in his fabric, but at least he knew he was awake. As awake as possible after whatever that nightmare was that haunted him. At least it had managed to end on a relatively high note by giving a warm feeling in his insides. Looking over, he could see Eight sharpening his knife, and spoke up, "Eight?" The Guard looked up and, thankfully, was normal. "Hey. Didn't expect you up so soon. How are you feeling?"

Six shrugged a bit, "Strange… But I can breathe again." He rubbed his head as Eight sat down his knife. "Will I keep having the side effects?" He asked pitifully and hoped that this wouldn't be the case. Eight shook his head, "I'm not going to promise anything, but it shouldn't if you watch yourself around those things, the magnets, they can bite back pretty damn hard." Six nodded in agreement and only somewhat noticed that the larger male had run his fingers through his yarn.

He was still quite tired, but refused to fall asleep again. Even when Eight pointed it out. "You look tired." Six didn't deny it and Eight exhaled, "It's going to be sunset soon. Get some more rest." The Artist didn't want to and tried to force himself to stay awake. When it failed, he looked to Eight, "Eight… Stay with me?" The Guard raised a brow, "I never left." This was true, but Six felt the need to insist, "I… I had a really… a dream… Please, Eight."

Eight put his hands up in defense, "Alright, alright." He sat down beside Six who moved over enough for him to sit. He then leaned back against the bedframe. Six waited until he got comfortable before lying against him, letting his body relax once again, and exhaling softly as he drifted off once again. Eight gave in and held him steady.

This time, Six had no dreams at all, and that was just fine with him.

* * *

**Mable: Wanted to give a little look into Six's psyche. Every detail in the dream actually symbolizes something, no matter what it is, so have fun trying to figure them out! However, if you just want me to list them, you can always PM me about them. Anyway, next chapter up tomorrow and I still don't own 9. I hope you enjoyed!**


	46. Chapter 46: The Self-Sustaining Youths

**Mable: Chapter Forty-Six! We're getting close to… Well… I'm not going to spoil. ^-^ Anyway, I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Forty-Six: The Self-Sustaining Youths_

The sun shined through the windows with the golden afternoon when Three finally poked her head out from under the table cloth. The smell of old cloth was somewhat soothing. Old, white, cotton tablecloths that trailed across the wooden floor that managed to stay slightly shiny even after years without a decent cleaning. She looked around before turning back to her sister, ensuring that the Cat Beast hadn't gotten in, and soon the twin appeared out from under the table.

They looked around the room and could see that it was filled with a large selection of tables that resembled the one they were just under. They were all covered in the same lovely linens. To their surprise, the small dining room was actually quite elegant. Small paintings of flowers hung on the walls, precious white curtains covered the dust and dirt caked windows, and nearby was a large set of mahogany stairs that led into the second floor.

Their natural curiosity took over and they turned to look at each other before deciding to look around their shelter some more. There was a small door in the back that they moved back to, easily able to push it open as it was a swinging door, and entering into another room. This one was obviously a healthy sized kitchen. Old, molded food rested on the counter, untouched, nearly completely shriveled and gone.

Four was the one to climb up upon the counter and search around. Other than the moldy food, there were a few sharp knives that were mostly used for food preparation. With that, Four spoke to her sister and inquired about the building. "_Do you think, perhaps, this could be one of those shops that they sold meals in? A restaurant?" _Three shrugged a bit, "_Perhaps. There certainly are a lot of tables out there." _

They were in agreement and even more curious than ever. Four started to cross the counter while Three curiously headed towards one of the nearby cabinets, the pantry. When she slipped inside she was met by shelves topped with many different items. On the floor were sealed bags, higher up were jars and cans, and Three approached one of the bags and tried to open it. It was sealed tight and she went back out, _"Four, I found something! I need your help." _

Four wasn't finding anything to interesting on the counter and quickly climbed down to join her twin in the pantry. They entered the small space again and Four used the letter opener to cut open the bag. Three then opened the slice and peered inside only to see it filled with what looked like white powder. Upon touching it, though, it was obvious that it wasn't powder, but small crystals. She cupped a handful and pulled it into the dim light filtering through the pantry door.

Four bent over to look at the handful as well and they tried to put together what it was. _"Maybe flour? White substance, made from wheat, and used in cooking traditionally?" _Four suggested and Three shook her head, _"Flour is fine powder. This is granulated crystals, different consistency, perhaps also used in cooking." _Since she couldn't smell it, she decided to use another sense that was seldom used, and put a little in her mouth.

Her optics widened in surprise and Four looked concern, _"What's wrong?" _Three looked up and gestured for her sister to take some of the handful, _"Definitely used in cooking. Reacts to taste." _Her sister looked curious and took some of the handful, popping it into the mouth and being surprised. They couldn't denote much about taste as they seldom used it, but both found it pleasing. Looking over the bag they finally found the word 'sugar' written in cursive on the side.

"_Sugar…" _Three thought through her memory, _"Yes, used in cooking, mostly in desserts and pastries. Sweet in flavor." _She blinked and looked up at her twin, _"So… This is what sweet tastes like?" _Four smiled a bit, _"It must be! It is certainly pleasant!" _Three agreed, _"I understand why humans use it in their last meal." _Suddenly they became aware that they were in an entire room that could possibly be filled with things that embraced this extra sense that had seemed worthless beforehand.

They moved onto another bag that was labeled 'flour' and realized that this was what they had mistaken the sugar as. Curiously, they cut open that bag as well, and Three took another taste. This time she wasn't nearly as pleased. _"Hmm… This one doesn't really stand out as good or bad. It doesn't really taste." _Four tried it and agreed, _"It doesn't. Perhaps bread doesn't taste much either. Maybe they must add something to flavor it."_

They weren't too sure, but they did decided to move onto the shelves, and climbed up the bags and onto the lowest shelf. Three steered Four to a jar or maroon liquid. The color lured her and she tried to pry open the top. It took both of them to twist the tight lid open and managed to get to the thick mixture inside. Three reached in and tasted a bit, smiling, _"Sweet as well. Perhaps preserves?"_

"_Yes. Humans preserved fruit, which is supposed to be sweet, as such…" _Three stopped her sister by taking a small bit of the preserves from the jar and feeding it to her. As twins they saw nothing odd by assisting each other when trying something new. _"Does everything taste so good?" _Four wondered and Three shrugged, _"Maybe. What a shame we cannot eat!" _Indeed, the taste seemed to be solely to support their scent, as they had none of the organs needed to devour and process meals.

A mixed blessing; they couldn't starve, but they couldn't taste either. Now they were finding a little pleasure and Four suggested, _"We should take some back home. Though I am not sure how." _Three nodded slowly and sucked some preserves off of her fingers, _"It would leak through the cloth." _Four thought a bit, "_We could take some flour and sugar home. That is something. Perhaps we can even make bread."_

Three giggled at her sister's suggestion and volunteered to use some of the new cloth to make bundles of flour and sugar. She dropped down to do so as Four examined some of the cans. A few of the labels were intact, some were writings that Four could read, and the rest were all either without labels or with worn labels. _"If only we had a can opener. Or Eight." _She chimed to her twin who, again, giggled, as she finished up.

Even though they knew it wasn't stable, Three and four did make a three layer bundle that they filled with a little bit of preserves. The bundles of fabric were then tied off by straps of cloth cut from the sacks and hung down from the makeshift pack that was to look like Five's that Three was carrying along. There was certainly enough fabric to work as a seamstress on, so neither were concerned.

Four led Three out of the kitchen with the letter opener in hand. Three was carrying the bulb as well, insisting on it, _"I can carry this much, Four, don't concern yourself. Five carries much more of this daily. Have you felt his bag? Impossibly heavy! Filled with needles and harpoons, fabric and knives, and such." _Four patiently listened with a small smile. She knew Three was strictly doing this because it reminded her so much of Five and it was a bit sweet.

Both of the twins were hopeless romantics. This was why they were so willing to help Seven find a mate. Especially since they were beginning to explore their gender had they began to read books on romance and imagine the others as couples. Before, back when they first met Nine and met again with Five, Three and Four were still at an age where they were a bit uninterested in being female and saw little difference between them and male Stitchpunks.

In fact, Three's recent blooming emotions for Five were what really made them interested in mating. It didn't help that One and Two recently came out as a mating couple, even preparing to have a baby in the near future, and caused the twins to chatter aimlessly about small incidents prior to then that they had thought were fights and now believed were much different. They wouldn't deny that they clearly saw the two occasionally disappearing together.

That wasn't all. Another couple they were interested in, but unable to interfere in, was Six and Eight. Maybe the two weren't exactly sure of what they were, but Three and Four certainly were. They expected something odd with the past bullying that Eight would put Six through. He would act like he hated him, but was strikingly protective of him. Then, suddenly, they're talking all the time and even spending the night together.

It was obvious to the twins; the two Stitchpunks were unknowingly pining for each other. Unlike Seven and Nine, though, Six and Eight were fragile. They moved at their own pace. They had the best moments when they were just spending time alone. As such, they knew not to get involved, and they knew that any prodding would most likely not help. Instead, they agreed to watch from afar, and make sure to watch the precious display.

At the top of the stairs, the twins looked at the hall. There were multiple doors in average condition. There were two windows and each side of the hall. One before the stairs and one at the opposite side. They also were framed with lacy, white curtains. They approached the first door and slipped underneath it as it was shut tight. Inside was a small bedroom with a flowered comforter, a dresser, and a bedside table.

It was quite empty and the twins headed into the next room. It looked almost the same except the bed was slightly angled in a different direction. _"An inn!" _Four concluded, _"Come for a meal and stay the night, of course!" _Three nodded and smiled as well, _"How interesting! I never thought we'd see one of these still standing. Like that story about the tavern outside the Kingdom and the-."_

They both froze as they heard a scratching noise. Their optics shot over to the window just in time to see a shadow pass the outside of the curtain. They both recoiled. _"Was that…?" _Four started and Three nodded in horror, _"It must be that Cat Beast. It never left…" _They knew that they were still in danger even as they stood inside the building. It was a Cat Beast; it was intelligent; it would eventually find a way inside. Then they would be in complete peril.

For now they still had a short window of opportunity. It clearly didn't know where they were in the building and had a chance of not noticing their leaving. They began to plot amongst themselves on an escape route and soon decided to take through the window of the kitchen. Right beneath it, Four had spotted an old flower pot that had begun to sprout with a few weeds, though they were thin and most likely wouldn't live long.

They could land upon the pot, climb down, and scurry down into another building, then another, and continue until they made it the appropriate distance. It sounded reasonable enough and the two exited the small bedroom to head to the stairs. The Cat Beast was staring in the window, but unfortunately had obscured vision through the drapes, so it constantly moved from window to window for a different view. Three and Four waited until it wandered off before dashing to the stairs and hopping down them quickly.

They entered into the kitchen frantically and helped each other climb onto the counter. They forced the window up together, unlocking the latch and pushing it up together. Once it slid up a little they slid underneath and onto the windowsill. Three dangled over the edge before dropping to somewhat minimize the distance slightly. The flower pot was actually filled with a thin layer of muck over the mud, unlike what Four said.

Three promptly sunk in to her ankles before looking up at her twin, crossing her arms in an obvious look of disturbance when she detected a little laughter, and Four smothered it to apologize about the miscalculation before dropping down as well. Still, Three did help catch her twin, and the two climbed down from the flowerpot, leaving muddy footprints on the broken concrete below.

High above they could hear the sounds of metal claws scraping about as the Cat Beast circled the hotel's ledge. It was certain that they were upstairs still and the two made sure to stay behind the flowerpot for a good few minutes until it had again left the area. They then hurried out and started down the street in the direction that they guessed was home. It was getting later and the sun was falling farther towards the horizon every minute.

Still, they had to be careful, and constantly stopped to either hide by a store front or search out a better way. They had started to relax for a small bit as they no longer saw the building. _"What time to you suppose it is? Five or six in the afternoon?" _Four asked her twin as she thought back to the note they had left. Three shrugged a bit, _"Perhaps… It feels like hours have past. I'm surprised that it is not dark yet."_

"_Think they have found the note yet?" _Four asked softly, _"Perhaps One has become frantic, sent everyone out, and they're all coming to find us even at this moment." _It was an obvious suggestion that was a way to somewhat comfort herself. Three wanted to believe the others were coming as well. Especially Five, who she was especially missing. She nodded slowly, _"Yes… They must of, by now, and they could be somewhere nearby even as we speak."_

With that, they began to continue through the winding ally's and broken buildings in an attempt to get home. In their attempt to escape the Beast they had gotten a bit turned around. Presently, they were trying to circle back in the right direction, up until they heard the most dreadful sound. It was a howl and it was clearly the Cat Beast's. This caused fear to grow inside of them. _"Did it follow us?!" _Three asked in terror, _"Could it have followed us all this way?!"_

"_I don't know!" _Four retorted before turning back ahead and beginning to run, _"Hurry! We must get home, now!" _Even though it was still quite a way, they were determined, especially when the Beast continued to roar in frustration after having lost the prey that it had been stalking for hours on end. It sounded surprisingly closer as the noise boomed and echoed across the brick and wooden structures that used to house humans.

They tried to not stay in the open and even found themselves running under cars and slipping through a very broken down building. Of course, this landed with Three losing the bag of flour and looking back to see the spilled white content across the floor. Their luck didn't grow better. Right outside and Four stumbled over a rock and nearly twisted her ankle. Thankfully, she suppressed this by allowing herself to fall flat on her front.

Three quickly pulled her sister up and they began to dash faster across the Emptiness. They managed to make it through a small ditch and down a road that they recognized as the one that led back to the Sanctuary. Almost there.

The Library could be seen in the distance and the two continued to run along. Four hurried her steps before noticed that she was quickly taking lead. At first, she thought she was running faster and faster, and quite impressed with such. She then realized that she wasn't outrunning her twin; her twin was lagging behind, falling back a good way. Three didn't have the same stamina as Four or the same strong health.

Four slowed down and went beside her sister, grabbing her hand and trying to nearly drag her along. Three accepted it and it helped her speed up just a little bit. She looked back. The Cat Beast wasn't visible, but she was sure that it was still chasing behind them somewhere, and they dashed across the stone entrance into the closed in area before the Library that invited them in.

Three and Four were so pleased to get home that they nearly sprinted inside, almost crashing right into Five, who looked like he was fully prepared to leave the Library with his harpoon and bag. He looked surprised, "Three? Four?" Then abruptly smiled, "There you two are! I was about to go out and search for you. Where have you been?" He asked kindly and the twins paused briefly. They then made contradicting hand gestures that somehow managed to make excuses of them being nearby. He bought it well enough before noticing something.

"Well, you must have had quite the journey." He said with a soft chuckle as he noticed their feet. The mud was still caked in from the flowerpot and Three smiled innocently while attempting to hide the sudden load of objects that they now had. Apparently Five didn't notice, or didn't address, and instead let them by, "You may want to wash that off before it fully dries and becomes quite a pain." They agreed, Three gave him a peck on the cheek, and hurried along. Both glad to get the dirt off and soak their feet in the cold water.

Meanwhile, Five smiled with a knowing look, and discreetly discarded the note the twins had left.

* * *

**Mable: I had to give the twins their own chapter, it was only right to do so. Next chapter up tomorrow! I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	47. Chapter 47: The Worrying Affection

**Mable: I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Forty-Seven: The Worrying Affection_

There was no denying that look in Six's optics when Eight had entered the bedroom. He had just left the room after waking up to check on One who was quite content to himself. Now, returning, he saw that Six was awake, and didn't look right. "Six?" He started cautiously and the Artist looked to him, "Eight…" His legs were folded above the blanket, "I was just thinking… I trust you. You trust me, right?"

"Yeah…" Eight started slowly, certainly on the fence about trusting the other with this tone. Six rubbed his key with his sharp fingers, "I'm not insane, Eight. I have sleeping trouble so I… I sometimes slur my words or don't put them together right, but I'm not insane. Sometimes, though, I really think things through, and I've been recently thinking about things that could help me with my many troubles."

"How long?" Eight tested and Six answered, "Since I awoke. I just, I am just concerned about myself, and I was, again, thinking that something making me happier or making me social would be a good thing." He paused before continuing, "I know everything has risks and I am willing to accept them to be normal, even if for a second. Because it would be worth straightening out what was wrong with me."

"You want the magnet." Eight randomly accused. He wasn't too sure that this was the case, but wanted Six to quickly deny it so that they could move on with their lives. Instead, to his surprise, Six suddenly perked, "I think I can handle just a little bit, just a second, please." The Guard was horrified and retorted, "But… But you just went through that night of hell after using it!" This didn't faze Six, "Yes, I know, I thought about it, but I am pretty sure that I need it."

That's when Eight knew that Six was starting to have a growing issue. "Six, you don't need it, you know you don't." Looking into Six's optics he saw this oddly empty stare, as though Six was delusional, and was wondering if they were more withdraws. The striped male smiled a look, "No, you're right, I don't. I'd like to try a bit still if you don't mind." He started to stand when Eight blocked the doorway, "Yeah, I do mind, and where are you going?"

"It's probably still in my bedroom." Six explained as he attempted to get past Eight, "Come on, Eight, I was honest, I told you the truth, and now I'm going to go use just a little. Not even enough to stumble." He was starting to become a bit frantic and Eight noticed it. He stared at Six before speaking, "You _don't _need it." Six nodded, "Right, I don't, but I just wanted to try." Eight decided to slip a white lie in an attempt to pacify Six.

"Alright, prove it. If you still want it tonight I'll hand it over." He had no indication to do so, but was surprised when Six wasn't content with it. "I sort of- I- umm- I need it now. Or, no, I don't need it- but I could really use it." Eight was determined, though. "Get some rest and if you still want it, I'll give it to you." Finally, the Artist gave in, but Eight had a suspicion that he hadn't completely given in.

* * *

Three wanted to show Five what they found and her sister agreed to do so. Four took the sugar to show about while Three sat down with Five in the Workshop. She opened the now somewhat soggy bundle of cloth and showed Five to taste the thick liquid inside. The Healer did and wasn't disappointed. If not he was a bit surprised, "It's… I don't know how to say it, but it's good. What is it?" As Three tried to use gestures to describe, Nine entered the room.

"Hey!" He greeted and approached before perking, "Is that some of that stuff that Four had?" He asked, perking up, and Three nodded. He had obviously already tried the sugar and most likely came over to alert Five. Five was trying a bit more and enjoying how his senses alit in bizarre pleasure. He suddenly imagined what it would be like, kissing Three, with them both having this tainting their lips. It caused him to grow warm in shyness; though it also gave him ideas.

He turned to Three and Nine when something happened out of nowhere that caught his attention. "Could I have some?" Nine asked curiously and Three smiled with a nod. She then quickly dipped her finger into the liquid and nearly forced it into Nine's mouth. It seemed over quick and Nine thought nothing of it other than mentioning how it, and the sugar, was pleasant.

That wasn't the reaction Five had. It started with only the feeling of mild surprise and soon turned to a twinge of disturbance. Still, he smothered it, and it didn't seem to continue past that. Four soon brought in the sugar and Five tried it as well, Three looked pleased to make him happy, and the day continued onwards normally. Well, that is, it did for a while.

It was only about thirty minutes later when Five and Three were drawn out into the hall where Two was seemingly overjoyed about something. Five soon deduced that it was about the baby being active as Two kept rubbing his belly and One stood nearby looking quite proud. Seven suddenly spoke up, "Could I feel?" She asked curiously and Two was immediately pleased to allow it, "Yes, yes, of course. Here, feel, he's quite active right now."

She moved her hand down to rest on the swell and smiled a bit, "I can feel him. Is that his foot?" The Inventor chuckled, "I think so. I know that his head is right here." He rested a hand on another section of the swell before turning to look at Five. "Five, would you like to feel?" The Healer nodded eagerly but was cautious to touch his Mentor as he feared hurting the baby. Two guided his hand along and rested it in the correct area.

There was movement, not exactly from where the baby's head was, but it was obviously alive. "He's small." Five pointed out as he gently rubbed the body inside. Two nodded, "He is. He will seem even smaller once he's out among us." There was a strange tone in Two's voice in which Five detected nervousness. He wasn't sure why as his mentor seemed so certain now. This was soon forgotten as he looked over and noticed Three laying her hand on the belly beside his.

He noticed how much smaller her hand was to his. Thin and dainty, not a blemish upon it, and quite lovely for a hand. That was, until he watched another hand reach over and patted on hers. It was obviously Nine's and Five watched the event in confusion. Something ate away at his insides, making him feel uncomfortable, and he found his mouth opening like he was going to say something. Instead, it shut tightly afterwards, as he didn't know what to say as it was just a touch.

Then he just had to flicker his optic over to catch yet another scene. Nine smiled to Three, Three smiled a cute little smile, and then he looked back to Two's large swell. It was a smile, just a smile, and he was overreacting. Nine was being nice. That is, unless his recent failure with Seven caused him to subconsciously seek out another female instead. Then, since Three was shown to be capable of loving, Nine fell for her and was expressing it like this.

Five was trying to convince himself that he was overreacting, but couldn't suppress the feeling that, perhaps, Three would be whisked away by Nine's charms. Still, he smothered it down a bit more and enjoyed caressing the baby. Everyone touched the swell until it was obvious that Two was becoming tired. It confused Five to see Two yawning this early, "Are you okay?" Two brushed it off, "I didn't get much sleep last night, that is all."

This convinced absolutely none of them, but One quickly slipped in to fix the situation, "Two, you need to go get some rest, they can prod at you both some other time." The Inventor slowly nodded in agreement, "I… Yes, I should get some rest. I'm quite a bit tired." He stumbled off, seemingly drained, and Five looked to the twins. He knew that they were talking about their dress out of excitement they showed.

Yes, he was aware of the dress, as in the short time they were home he had already noticed them trying to measure Seven from afar, then spoke on it. He was becoming more and more able to understand their speaking, which was a positive since it made their relationship easier. Three turned to him and communicated that she would like to go work and asking if he wouldn't mind. He didn't and coaxed her to go with her twin and have a fun time. He himself was very fond of his work and hoped she enjoyed hers just as much.

So for a while longer everything went back to normal. Evening came and Five was working on sketches for the crib when he decided to go check on the twins. His fingers were beginning to go stiff anyway and he knew he needed a break to keep his mind fresh. A term Two would use at times. He stretched his legs and began to head towards the twins' room. Upon arriving inside he was quick to see that he had been beat there.

Nine was already there in the room. In fact, he was being measured by Three and Four, as though they were planning to make him clothes as well. He somewhat noted that they were measuring under Nine's zipper pull and wondered which it was who lifted the pull to slip the thread they were using to measure underneath. However, Nine greeted him with a smile and both twins looked glad to see him as well.

Five returned their smiles with one of his own while he brimmed with mental turmoil.

* * *

Six was obviously not pleased with Eight's stubbornness against the magnet while Eight was certainly not pleased with Six's want for the magnet. Finally, Six was beginning to become insistent. "I waited hours, have I proved I'll be fine yet?" Eight retorted from the door where he had made his post, "It's been one hour only, and no, you haven't." The Artist huffed in annoyance, unknowingly hurting his case more than the insisting was.

Mood swings were to be expected and only signaled to Eight that this was just as he expected. However, he also knew it could be beaten, and continued trying to keep Six stable. It was around then that Seven passed by with a small sack, "How is he?" She asked softly and Eight shrugged; not knowing how she knew. "Fair enough. What's that?" The Warrior gestured back towards the twins' room, "Three and Four found it. I- We thought made it would help a little. It tastes good and may help take his mind away from… that."

Eight took it thankfully, "Yeah, anything will work." There was a moment of silence before Seven spoke up again, "Did you tell him about-…" She trailed off and Eight shook his head, "No. Didn't want everyone knowing about it. It's bad enough that you and Two saw it." That was long ago, a time Eight was ashamed of, and she nodded. "Alright. I'll let you handle it." She gave him a lingering look before leaving again and Eight rubbed his head before looking at the bag.

Then he stood and entered the room behind him. "Hey Six, the twins got you something." Even though he only seemed to want the magnet, Six still perked a little at the mentioning, and looked at the bag in interest. Like the others, Eight knew what taste was, but didn't use it for anything. "You put it in your mouth." Six took the small bag tenderly, "The whole thing?" He was certainly confused until he opened it and saw the maroon, thick liquid, "Oh…"

He collected a little with his sharp fingers and put in to his lips. He immediately reveled at the taste and let out a soft moan from it. In this state, he seemed to be enjoying any little victory. "It's good." He murmured and scooped more into his mouth, "Really, really good. Maybe I just need this." That caught Eight's interest. This was just liquid, it couldn't hurt Six, and it substituting the magnet was fine with the Guard. In fact, it could help Six get through this rough patch.

He watched in relief as Six shoved the liquid into his mouth more and more, most likely it was soaking into his fabric to disappear away, the rest merely getting smeared across his face like the ink stains that rested on his hips and thighs. It was a bit cute, even to someone like Eight, who was now beginning to realize how concerned he was about the smaller. How fearful he was to lose the Artist to something he had introduced him to.

That's when Six noticed his supply was running low and looked up innocently, "Is there more?" Eight remembered they brought more than one thing home. "I think so." He started towards the door, "You stay here and I'll get it." Six nodded and sucked upon the cloth that the preserves had been inside. The second the Guard walked out, the Artist looked up, and his innocent look turned into a mischievous smile. He dropped the sticky bag and wiped off his mouth before scurrying to the door.

The twins' room was right beside his, so there was a risk, but he knew if he slipped in he could get some of the magnet before Eight realized he wasn't in his bedroom. He tried to walk patiently, taking small, steady steps, but soon broke into a run. Unfortunately, Six arrived at his door the second that Eight looked out, and soon heard a quick, "Hey!" He got through the curtain when Eight snatched him up from around the waist.

He was actually dangling and Eight spoke up, "Did you think I wasn't going to hear you?" At that second, Six noticed the magnet, and knew he needed it. His fingers clamped down on Eight's arm as he managed to turn around a bit, latching his mouth onto the higher part of the arm, and closing on it. Even without teeth, he bit Eight, and Eight felt it. The more that Six struggled, the more Eight struggled back, and the two were warring as Six tried to twist himself out of Eight's grasp.

"Let me go!" He shrieked awfully load as Eight tried to get a better grip, now only holding his arms, "Six, pull it together!" The Artist suddenly started to kick at him and managed to get his knee into Eight's abdomen. Unfortunately, this meant him getting closer, and Eight used this to lock on tighter to him. Nine appeared in the doorway in confusion, but Seven managed to usher him away, explaining somehow that Eight was doing right.

"Stop it!" Eight growled as he managed to get Six somewhat trapped. The Artist continued to thrash. Eight suddenly gave up and released Six who dropped to the ground, "Fine, you want it that bad, take it! But I'm not going to stand here and watch you get more messed up on that thing!" He watched Six scramble towards the magnet before turning away. The Artist lifted the magnet, stared at it, and prepared to press it to his head. Eight pushed the curtain open and stepped outside.

"Eight…" Eight paused at Six's voice and looked back. The striped one was staring at the magnet in his hands for a bit before nearly throwing it to the other side of the room. He looked back to the Guard, "I need help…" He was suddenly having a second of clear thinking and was looking fearful by far. "I don't know why I'm acting like this." Eight exhaled slowly in relief, "It's the magnet. This is why you have to be careful with that thing." He didn't continue, though, "Come on. I've got to do my rounds, you can come with me."

He didn't want to leave Six alone again and the Artist nodded. Eight noticed him still staring at the magnet longingly. Honestly, the want was still there, but the revelation that Eight was planning to walk out was much worse than the need for a magnet. He drug behind the other male slowly. "I'm sorry I bit you." Eight shrugged, "Don't worry about it. It didn't hurt." Of course, he did note an ache in his arm right where the mouth had locked on. He rubbed it a bit once Six wasn't looking.

* * *

"Two?" Five had waited until Two was awake again before he sought the Inventor out. Two was in the Workshop with a pile of cloth on the table before him. They were scraps left over, old rags, and even some cloth that looked like the twins had brought it back. "What are you doing?" He asked curiously and Two smiled, "Just sewing another blanket or two. It will be getting cold and I don't want the baby getting cold."

Five was about to point out that there were already three blankets inside the crib, but stopped, and instead sat down on the stool. Two then glanced over, "You look troubled, Five. Would you like to talk about it?" The Healer nodded slowly and began to recite the string of incidents that had occurred between Nine and Three. His mentor listened and nodded every bit until his apprentice got to the end.

"I think… I think that he is feeling for Three what he used to feel for Seven…" Five shrugged a bit, "And I think that if he wanted to he could make her fall in love with him instead." Concern laced his voice, "Two… What do you think?" His shorter mentor didn't look nearly as concerned. "Honestly, Five, I think Nine has been giving the twins extra attention, but not because he is wanting one of them as a romantic partner."

He faced Five completely, "You see, the twins were missing all day, so Nine is being kindly now that they're home. Because Three is your mate you are feeling a touch of jealousy, which is common." Then his voice softened, "Perhaps you are afraid she will stop loving you for other reasons." Five looked away, piecing together that Two may be right, and the Inventor continued, "You are not any less of a Stitchpunk, Five, and Three loves you because she loves _you. _There's no doubt in my mind."

"You're right." Five spoke softly, "Completely right. I'm just overthinking this whole thing." He did feel a little better, but couldn't suppress the small feeling that still resided. He pushed it down and smiled at his mentor, "Thanks, Two." His mentor smiled as well, "Now why don't you go find Three and straighten this all out?" Five nodded and stood to go find her.

Secretly hoping that he didn't find her with Nine.

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**Mable: The next chapter will be up tomorrow. I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	48. Chapter 48: The Small Preparations

**Mable: Here's the next chapter, chapter Forty-Eight! I don't own 9 and I hope everyone Enjoys!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Forty-Eight: The Small Preparations_

While Five was waiting for Three and Four to come to a stopping point in their sewing he decided to just prod Nine with a few questions. Mostly ones that could help him discover whether the other male was still interested in Seven. It wasn't hard to find Nine; he was in his room overlooking the new bulb that the twins had brought back. It was only then that Five actually realized that this was why Nine was being nice, because the twins had brought him a gift.

He decided to, instead, angle the question towards Seven in merely curiosity, "How has Seven been? I haven't seen her much." Nine smiled a little, "She's been busy. All of this work that everyone's doing made her want to make more armor so she's been spending a lot of time out looking for the bones of a bird." Nine wasn't completely sure what a bird was, but did know that she wore one's skull as a helmet. "Do you know why she wants bird bones? Wouldn't other bones work?"

"They're lighter." Five explained as he approached the bed to fix the blankets, "And most are hollow inside so that birds can fly. It makes the armor light enough so that she can move around easier." Nine nodded in understanding before looking to the bulb, "Could you help me with this bulb? I can't get it to turn on." Five smiled and sat down beside his friend, "Let's take a look." Nine looked to him, interested, "Thanks, Five."

Five began to address the bulb and started to realize how wrong he was to distrust Nine, his best friend, while Nine obliviously watched the one eyed one help him.

* * *

The twins hadn't sewed much in the past, but were finding that if they were careful that they could come up with something nice. They had slipped and took Seven's measurements after taking a few others'. They did this so Seven would not get suspicious or anything, not know about their dress until after its completion. They had finished the bodice and were sewing some green thread in to embroider it before working on the skirt.

"_I'm not sure if Child likes green as much as Nine." _Three pointed out as she finished a small leaf design that she had been trying to create. Four shrugged a bit, _"I don't think he'd hate green. Besides, the main color would be white." _Her twin smiled a bit and asked playfully, _"Do you mean the dress fabric or hers?" _Their optics both flickered in giggles and they continued to work on the dress.

Three soon lowered the small needle she had been using while Four began sewing what looked like ivy. _"I wish we had more thread. Perhaps pink or red, to make a flower, but I assume we're fortunate that Two had green. As there is no real reason to have green thread. It wouldn't go very well with white, tan, or stripes." _Three agreed as she lifted the piece of cloth that was to be the skirt and lifted it to the bottom of the bodice. _"Could you hold this?"_

Four lowered her needle and held the skirt in place so that her sister could attach it with stitches. Of course, her mind went back to other kinds of thread, and once the skirt was attached she turned to her sibling and suggested that they went to look. Three was a bit hesitant as she was planning on trying to stop soon so that she could go to bed with Five, but reluctantly agreed and finished up her stitching. The skirt didn't look like much, barely held on, but they hoped to do more with it in the near future.

They exited their room and headed towards the Workshop. Upon entering they noticed a few odd things. First, the two pet Beasts, Pet and Toto, were wrestling with each other in a mock fight in the center of the room. Secondly, they noticed Two asleep against the Workbench, head resting against a bed of blankets. The two felt a little concerned to see the Inventor in this state, especially since they knew he was carrying a little Stitchpunk.

Knowing the risks, Four went to get One while Three shook Two awake. The Inventor was incredibly sluggish as he sat up, but noticed Three, "Oh, Three, I must have fallen asleep… I'm fine, don't worry." He insisted before One suddenly entered the room, "Again?" He asked abruptly and Two stared at him before nodding. The twins soon realized that Two was becoming tired a lot recently and was having times of falling asleep.

One helped him up, Two was a bit unsteady on his feet, and led him into the hall. "Come along, let's get you to bed." He was actually being very calm and understanding. He looked to the twins, "Thank you both." Then ushered the Inventor along to their room. The two girls were a bit concerned, but decided to trust One, and instead went to searching out thread.

Two hit the bed and was nearly unconscious when One began speaking, "Two, I am becoming concerned about this recent exhaustion you have been having." He sat down on the bed beside his mate, "On the throne, in the nursery, in the Workshop, you are constantly stumbling and-…" He huffed, "And you are falling asleep even now." Two rolled over to face him, taking his time to do so, "You act as though I am doing it on purpose. We both know it must be from my body's reaction to the baby."

One glanced away, "I know you are not doing this on purpose. I am not blaming you, I am concerned for you and Twenty-One." That was the first time that either had referred to the baby as its name. Two had a feeling that this meant One was as concerned as he claimed. This wasn't simply an act of leadership. "I think you should consider bed rest." He noticed Two tense and was quite sure that this was what the other was avoiding.

Two pressed bed rest when others were injured, but was somewhat hypocritical in the sense. He himself would often leave bed rest, even when he had just gone through surgery, just like with his legs. He was up and walking in record time, "One, we don't know when the baby will be arriving and we still have not finished the crib. I cannot revert to bed." His mate was insistent, "Your body is bluntly telling you that you need rest. You could risk more than lost time."

"And the crib?" Two asked in a desperate fashion. "I can handle it on my own." Two had a sudden mental image of One trying to build a crib in his own way, without touching anything, and smothered a soft burst of laughter. One must have noticed because he suddenly looked incredibly offended. Two straightened himself, "Five would certainly help. I doubt you would even have to ask." One contemplated this, "Perhaps… For now, rest, it is late."

"Very well, your highness." Two playfully commented, "Your jester has lost your interest so you send him to the bedchambers." He moved beside the Leader and coaxed him to lie down as well. One did so, allowing himself to relax and hoping Two did so as well.

* * *

Eight had been sharing a bed with Six for a while now. It was innocent, it helped Six sleep, and they barely touched unless they moved in their sleep towards each other. Eight was used to Six's sleeping patterns by now. The Artist didn't move much, he didn't speak unless he was having a nightmare, and certainly didn't shriek unless he was having a nightmare. So, from this, he was able to usually also sleep without disturbance, as he himself was a slightly heavy sleeper.

Tonight, though, Six was clearly not sleeping soundly. Eight could feel him fidgeting and twitching all night. His legs would kick, he would turn over, he would tug the blanket up, he would shove them back down, and he continued to make sighs and groans of discomfort. After a clear hour of this, Eight decided to attempt to assist Six. Usually this involved wrapping an arm around Six to relax him, so he did so.

Not only did this not work, it seemed to make Six even more restless. Finally, Eight spoke up, "You okay?" Six answered with a mutter of, "Why is it so hot in here?" Followed by a sharp, "Let go of me." Eight wasn't willing to argue with Six who now sounded much more like One than like himself. He pulled back and Six rolled over once again to face the wall, but was soon beginning to toss and turn once again.

"I hate this bed." Six muttered in an irritated fashion as he sat up in bed, "I'm going to go sleep in my room. It's too hot in here." Eight had a feeling that the withdraws were talking again, but at least as Six left the room he knew that he was trying to stay off the magnet. It was only after a good three or four minutes that he realized Six tricking him was not completely out of the picture. After all, it had already happened once.

He shot up and went straight towards Six's room. He was a bit annoyed himself at having to hunt the other male down and entered the bedroom to see Six standing there, staring at his bed, while the magnet resided right where he had thrown it earlier. Eight looked confused, "What are you doing?" Six exhaled, "I was coming in to rest, but…" He slowly turned towards Eight. If looks could kill, Eight would have dropped dead, "_You broke my bed._"

Eight winced, "Yeah, we need to get that fixed." Six was still glaring and Eight started to beckon him, "Come on, just stay with me and I'll work on it tomorrow. It can't be that hard." Six grumbled about something, but Eight treated him like One, and completely ignored it so that he could lead the Artist out of the room. They returned to Eight's room where Six collapsed on the bed facedown, "Why couldn't you just let me use the damned thing. You use it."

Eight couldn't say that he didn't like hearing Six swearing. It was strangely exhilarating and eased the tension as Eight sat back onto the bed, "It's because I know when I've had enough." He added a small, almost smug smile that Six shot yet another annoyed look at before moving over to bury his face in the pillow. "It'll pass." Eight pointed out and Six huffed, "How do you know? What if it lasts forever?"

"It won't." Eight pointed out before explaining, "A long while back, when I first got into the magnet, I had an incident like this and Two made me quit. The others didn't know, a few did, but it was bad. I was more hooked than you were and I was really trying to keep it that way. He nearly tied me down. At least we were beneath the Cathedral so nobody heard what was going on. I was at the point that Two thought my withdraws were going to kill me. I started seeing things that weren't there and stuff."

Six slowly looked over at Eight as the Guard continued. "I was losing my mind, spent three days doing what you did yesterday, having trouble with my breathing and this crawling feeling on my fabric. Then I had a week of being ticked off at everyone, unable to calm down, and the need- the unstoppable want, for the magnet. Then it started to go away after a while, eased up, and I was back to normal."

The Artist was watching him intently and Eight felt a little ashamed admitting this tale. "It was over and I did use the magnet afterwards, but I learned to use it in stride. Use it without using too much. I probably shouldn't keep doing it, but it's-… Yeah, there's no excuse." He finished with, not wanting to annoy Six, and a small pause passed. Then Six spoke, "It was that week that you disappeared. One kept pressing Two about you and he kept saying…"

"Saying I needed rest. How'd you remember?" Six shrugged a little, a small smile crossing his face, "It was so strange that it stood out." Then looked away slowly. That was back when Eight was still hard on him and it suddenly stood clear to him that he had been being quite difficult. So much so that Eight should have turned on him. The striped Artist closed his mismatched optics as he spoke, "Eight, I'm sorry about how I've been acting. I can't help it."

"I know." Eight answered and reached over to rest on Six's back as Six was now laying on his front still. He ran his hand over the ring of Six's key and over his number softly, feeling over the striped canvas. The Artist's optics closed as he exhaled softly, allowing himself to try to relax, even when his legs were still twitching a bit. The Artist then pushed himself up and slid over towards Eight. He rested against Eight's chest and cuddled into him.

Eight held Six close so to somewhat comfort him. After a few minutes, Six began to twitch less, and soon his breathing began to soften until he was barely moving at all. A dreamless sleep, or a sleep, at least, of few dreams that were pleasant. That was what Eight had wanted from the beginning of this entire event. With that he believed that maybe it was going to get easier.

He could only hope.

* * *

Nine was interrupted from his project with Five when he felt something run over his foot. Looking down he saw Toto and smiled a bit before bending down to pick her up. "Hey. Where have you been?" He asked caringly and stroked her back as she folded into his lap. Five looked up from the bulb that he had finally managed to get to work and smiled at the small Beast before looking back at the doorway, "Hey Child."

Nine had not even heard Child approach and looked back to see the pale male at the door with Pet. "Evening Five. Nine, you didn't return to continue our training." His voice was flat so Nine wasn't sure what emotion he was trying to express with that comment. He shrugged a bit, "It got late. I had to get Five to light by bulb." A weird look of confusion crossed Child's face and he asked, "Excuse me?"

"The bulb that the twins brought; I couldn't get it to turn on." Child seemed to relax once again and shrugged the event off, "Yes, well, we should continue on in the morning. If you don't continue to press the training in it will never stay, and that can certainly be a problem for both you and Toto." The other nodded and gave a reassuring smile, "I know, we'll work the second we get up in the morning, okay?"

"Yes. That's fine." Child murmured and scanned the room while Nine looked back to the bulb. Meanwhile, outside the bedroom, the twins had managed to come to a stopping point on the dress. Not all of it was finished, but it was finished enough that they were able to put it on as clothing. Of course, it wasn't exactly their size, and they planned to take it to show to Seven. Child saw them leaving their room and became quizzical.

"The twins have been sewing?" Nine nodded, "Yeah. They were measuring me earlier to help." With that, Child cracked a smirk, "Then that must be your dress they finished." Nine blinked and walked to the door, "What?" Looking out, he caught sight of the dress as the twins entered Seven's room, and merely stared. "They measured me for that?" Child began to actually snicker beside him and Nine tried to block him out as the twins disappeared behind Seven's curtain.

Then, he sputtered in defense, "They must have used my shoulders. Yeah, that seems right. Most Stitchpunks have similar shoulders." When Child continued making noises he blurted out, "They didn't measure my hips." Child smirked, "Of course not. Less they have to take it in a few inches." He entered the room and Nine followed him in, "Speaking of inches and measures and places, why exactly are you back here anyway? Hiding from One? Or hounding us to pry information?"

Child immediately rounded on him, "And what is that supposed to mean?" They looked ready to fist fight and Five stood to break them up, "Calm down, calm down." He insisted, playing the referee as Two couldn't in his state. "I know you two find the need to fight each other at random times, but I think you two should reconsider." Maybe it was the fact that Five said anything at all, but Nine and Child were flustered out of their fight.

Child cleared his throat, "I was out of line, Nine. I suppose my comments may trigger self-consciousness and are not completely fair towards you. As you are young and cannot come with such eager response." Nine didn't exactly take everything well, but accepted the apology, "Yeah, I was too." With that Child gestured to Pet, "Come along." And then began to leave. That's when Nine chimed up.

"By the way, be careful next time you're outside. Two told me that the sun can fade colors. The sun might tint your fabric to normal white, and we all know how you like staying 'blindingly blank'." Nine added in and Child stopped at the door, pausing, and continued leaving. Nine, however, looked to Five with a mischievous smile, "It's a start."

* * *

**Mable: Nobody ever said Nine was good at comebacks. For those who are asking why Nine suddenly accused Child, I will explain that the words were taken out of context. Anyway, next chapter up tomorrow, I hope you enjoyed!**


	49. Chapter 49: The Disgruntled Rest

**Mable: About to hit the halfway mark! ^-^ It feels like this fic is going on forever, yet, surprisingly, I am enjoying the ride! Anyway, I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Forty-Nine: The Disgruntled Rest_

Nine awoke from prodding and rolled onto his back to look up and see Child above him. Before he could say a word about why, Nine chimed in with, "This is about that comment yesterday, isn't it?" Child then pointed out, "Training." However, that small smug look showed that it wasn't the only reason he had wanted to wake Nine up. The zippered male sat up and called Toto to his side. The small Beast dashed up off the foot of the bed and trailed behind her master slowly.

They exited the room and started down the hall where they abruptly passed One who seemed to be heading into Nine's room. Nine assumed that he was, perhaps, going to see Five and only hoped that he wasn't going to snap when he realized that Three was in bed with him. It wasn't until they had passed the hall to One and Two's room that Nine was suddenly called, "Good morning!" Two greeted cheerfully, even though seeing neither of them, and Nine raised a stitched brow before leaning over before the door.

"Umm… Morning Two." He spoke up and waved a little at the Inventor who was just sitting on his bed, staring desperately. "What are you doing?" Two chuckled, "One insisted that I stay in bed until the baby comes. Unfortunately, that means that I cannot come out and be social." Nine was sympathetic, "Sorry. I'm forced to go train because I told Child how white he is." With that the conversation was abruptly over as Child got a grip of his shoulder and dragged him away.

They lowered down the bucket lift and entered the library beneath them, heading outside once again. They immediately went to work as Child spoke up, "Let us pretend that these cracks in the ground are dangerous. You and I will both have to coax them to cross the cracks without touching them. This cannot be easily done with vocals and can be triggered much easily with hand gestures. I took the liberty of allowing Toto to watch Pet and me as we worked last night, she should be able to understand most gestures well enough."

With that, Child made a gesture almost like a sweeping, causing Pet to move around a crack. The following was a spasm of the hand that triggered a small hop over the crack. Pet was moving along fine while Nine was standing there staring, "How exactly will this help around Beasts?" Child shrugged a bit, uncaringly, and Nine exhaled calmly, "Because Toto still can't remember most of her vocal commands."

"Have you been attempting them while we were not in training?" Child asked as Pet managed to get to where he was and climb up his frame to avoid the cracks. Nine was glad to point out, "I have been. I've called her and told her to stay, but she still won't go places I tell her to." Now Child was actually paying attention. Whatever he presently had against Nine was postponed as he approached the smaller Beast with an interested look. "Perhaps she cannot understand the locations well enough as Pet can, from youth."

Then he turned to Nine, "Have you tried easier examples?" He nodded, "I tried 'bed'." He then paused, "Wait, maybe we could- Put Pet down." Child pointed out how he wasn't technically holding him and Nine repeated the command to which the pale Stitchpunk commanded Pet to descend. With that, Nine spoke, "Toto?" Toto looked to him and he pointed to Pet, "Go to Pet." With that, Toto suddenly turned and followed the command, heading over to Pet.

Nine was thrilled to see she was responding and Child looked content enough. Nine then called Toto back and the small Beast ran back to him. He was completely pleased, however Child was quick to look away, "Now that it is settled, let us continue the obstacle maneuvers." It couldn't have been too long before Child insisted they stop to let the Beasts rest, but for Nine it felt like quite some time had passed.

They headed back upstairs where they were immediately caught by odd noises coming from the hall to One and Two's room. Child was wandering into his own room so Nine went to investigate. He also noticed Eight standing in the throne room, but he looked upset about something, so Nine didn't bother him. He instead headed past to the nursery where he saw a strange sight.

"How can I nail in the leg if I do not have a proper nail?" One asked in annoyance as he held a wooden leg against the base of some sort of frame. "Are there any of the larger ones left?" Five was shuffling through a box of nails and tacks through the box. "I thought we had four for the legs... Oh! Here!" He found a larger nail and handed it over while One handed him back a very rusty nail that looked quite dirtied and worn.

Five discarded it back into the box before he noticed Nine, "Hey Nine." Nine looked at the frame, "What are you two doing?" Five explained, rubbing the back of his neck, "We're just building a crib." He gestured to it, "Two's not able to so I'm helping One." The Leader was scrutinizing his work with an interested look while Nine smiled a bit, "I guess I'll let you work. Good luck." Really, he noticed One didn't look too pleased, and knew that the older Stitchpunk could possibly be close to snapping.

He passed Eight in the hall and Two's room, where Two and Nine exchanged a brief 'hello', and headed back down the other hall. He was a little bored and assumed that he was simply killing time until Child was ready to train again. He played with Toto a bit, looked at his new bulb, which he decided to wait and replace the other Light staff's bulb once it began going out, and eventually heard Eight pass by.

Most likely looking for Six, the Artist probably passed back by without him noticing, as he was always quiet. That's when Nine decided to seek out the twins. Even though they used his frame as a guide to make a dress, they could possibly still have something for him to do, and he exited his room. Toto had curled on the bed and was resting so he left her be. Entering the twins room, she found them missing, and even looked into Six's room to see that nobody was there as well.

Hearing speaking from Seven's room that sounded like Eight, Nine entered that room next, and gawked. Past Eight who was standing beside the doorway, Seven was in the center of the room, wearing the dress that the twins had made, and they were circling around her making adjustments to it. Seven looked at Nine with horror and he could only feel a rush of embarrassment, almost like he had caught her open, and spoke, "Sorry." Then he was back out the door.

Once in the hall, he would admit that she did look lovely, draped in white fabric that was accented with a touch of green. Breathtaking, very much so, but she obviously didn't want him gawking at her. Perhaps she was embarrassed about being seen without her helmet unwillingly. Nine wasn't sure, but he contemplated this as he called Toto and decided to find Child, breaking down to ask the other if they were to work longer as he was growing increasingly bored.

Upon entering Child's room he immediately noticed something strange. The male was sitting on his makeshift bed, leaning against the wall, and seemed to be asleep. A devious thought crossed Nine's mind as he come closer, preparing to startle Child awake as Child had done with him. However, as he crouched beside him, he suddenly had an odd question and stared down at Child's front. "_I wonder if he still has that port…"_

It was odd that he was so curious, but Nine wanted to know. Perhaps that bizarre accusation the night before, about gathering information, was a real suspicion of Child. Nine trusted Child, though, so he wasn't sure why he would be suspicious. Unless, of course, it was an excuse to be curious or try to have a good retort. He reached up, certain that just unhooking a single hook would grant him enough room to see if the port was there or not.

The second the first hook snapped open, Child's arms shot up, and he let out the closest thing to a scream that Nine ever heard. He recoiled back and stared in alarm while Nine sputtered, "I just wanted to see!" Child gasped in disturbance and Nine forced the rest out, "By that, I mean, I was trying to see if you still had that port." Child glared in fury, "And you thought that opening me was the easiest way to accomplish this?!"

"I thought you'd stay asleep! It was just a quick look!" Nine insisted desperately and Child quickly went to close himself. He noticed that, even though caught in the act, Nine was still trying to look inside. His optics shot to the side in embarrassment. Child huffed and yanked himself back open, "Yes, here it is, mark of the Beast." He announced in irritation and Nine glanced in to see the port still there as expected.

"I wasn't trying to offend you. I was just curious, you know." Nine pointed out and Child closed himself. That's when Nine continued, "And I didn't mean to offend you last night either." Child retorted, "You didn't offend me." He was obviously lying and Nine pressed, "Come on, I know I offended you." Child didn't continue protesting and Nine spoke up, "Maybe we should continue our lessons?" Child looked towards Pet's bed, "He's asleep, I don't want to wake him."

"I meant our Luxembourgish lessons." Nine pointed out, "I want to know more." With that, Child eased, "Then let us start with 'white'; _waiss_."

* * *

Five awoke the second that Child entered the room. He knew that he had nearly overslept and believed this was why he was so able to awaken. He wrapped his arm around Three's waist as she cuddled against his chest. It was a serene moment; even with Child forcing Nine out of the room, until One suddenly appeared. Three ducked under the blanket and Five gawked at the Leader. "One- I didn't- I had no- Good morning." He ended with a forced smile that looked increasingly manic.

One seemed to have his mind in another thought and paid little attention to Three who crawled out of the foot of the bed and took out of the room, sending Five a blowing kiss motion and dashing towards her room. He smiled at the motion and One spoke up, "With Two unable to work I will have to build the crib alone. Two insisted I offer you the chance to assist me." This wasn't exactly the case, but Five seemed to grasp this, and quickly exited his bed.

"I'd like to help as much as I can for the baby." Five insisted and One was pleased with the response. He led the Healer out of the room and down the hall. While passing Eight's room he knocked on the doorframe to awaken him before continuing through the throne room. The wood and supplies had been moved into the nursery a while back so it was all prepared. Five caught Nine and Child going down the bucket lift and waved, but neither had noticed him.

They passed One and Two's room, where Two immediately greeted them, sounding a bit lonely. Five waved and they entered the nursery. "Where do we begin?" One asked almost to himself and Five decided to coax the leader. "That's the wood for the frame propped up on the wall. I already cut it, so we should probably just nail it together." One took this in stride, "Very well." He looked awkward as he approached the wood and took two pieces up. At least they were the correct pieces to use.

Soon they were kneeling on the floor, One holding the wood and Five holding the tools, and Five approached to hammer in a small nail. The problem was, not only was One's grip not firm enough, but he started to repeat, "Steady." Over and over again. Eventually he managed to angle the wood against the floor, One still holding it, and took the first hit. It didn't take long to hammer the nail in and the Healer felt it to make sure it was steady.

"Are you sure that nail will hold?" One pestered and Five patiently nodded, "It was in good condition." As he got the second nail from the box he heard One mutter, "Good condition. Yes, good condition should certainly suit an infant. After all, they won't notice until they hit the floor." Needless to say, One wasn't exactly the easiest Stitchpunk to work with, and apparently Five wasn't either as he soon had the hammer wrenched from his hand as One took control, making Five hold the wood.

Betwixt the two of them, they finally managed to finish the base of the frame and moved on to the bars of the crib, which were also precut. Save the fact that there were not enough bars to have the sides even in number. He didn't expect this to bother One that much and was surprised yet again. The leader clearly divided the bars beforehand, neatly stacking them and counting out how many went where. Of course, the second he saw that there were not an even number, he looked obviously disturbed.

To Five's relief, One simply tossed one of the bars away, returning to an even number and continuing to work. They had to nail into the underside to hold the bars onto the frame, so they both had to work together to juggle the work. After a while of nailing and adjusting, the bars were on, and they moved to the legs. This time, One tilted the crib on the side, and began to put the legs on, nearly by himself.

Five handed him a handful of nails and went to arrange the many blankets for the crib. It didn't take too long for One to get three of the legs on, but he stopped at the final one, scrutinizing the nail in his hand. It was rusted over and in very poor condition. One immediately turned on Five, "How can I nail in the leg if I do not have a proper nail?" One asked in annoyance as he held a wooden leg against the base of the frame. "Are there any of the larger ones left?"

Five then shuffled through the box of nails, "I thought we had four for the legs... Oh! Here!" He found a larger nail and handed it over while One handed him back a very rusty nail that looked quite dirtied and worn. Five tossed it into the box before noticing something out of the corner of his optic. It was Nine, standing in the doorway. "Hey Nine." He greeted and Nine curiously asked, "What are you two doing?"

Five rubbed the back of his neck, "We're just building a crib. Two's not able to so I'm helping One." He explained as he gestured to what was to be the crib soon. Nine smiled a little and stepped away, "I guess I'll let you work. Good luck." Five wasn't ignorant; he knew that Nine was smart enough to run from One when he looked this irritated. "Blasted thing." One swore, "Five, come help me hold this."

The Healer kneeled to do so when Eight seemed to suddenly enter, he didn't speak or anything and merely watched them. He looked lost in thought mostly. Five's attention was soon taken to One who he noticed was very frustrated. Apparently he couldn't hammer the nail in and hold the leg like he had with the other legs. Five then noticed that he himself was now holding the nail and that the furious One was wielding the hammer.

He reared back and Five's optic widened as the hammer slammed down, hitting the nail. However, One was not looking very patient, which mean Five had the horrific feeling that the other would strike him, perhaps on purpose. Another hit, a second, a third, and Five cringed every time the hammer fell. Then, randomly, One looked up, "Eight?" He asked as he brought the hammer down.

Five pulled his hand back as the hammer hit where it had been, while managing to slightly bend the nail in the meantime. One looked to it, then to Five, and glared as the Healer smiled innocently. Eight wasn't paying much attention, "Hey, Boss, I need to ask you something." One exhaled in annoyance, "Yes?" There was a brief pause before Eight backed a bit, "Never mind. It's nothing." He then seemed to leave the room awfully quickly.

"This time, Five, hold the nail!" One scolded and Five nodded before doing so. They soon managed to get the leg on and topped the bars so that they stayed together. There was more hammering and once finished, the crib was done. "There." One announced, "Finished." Then he began to throw the blankets into the crib. Five stretched a bit, "I guess I'll get the sandpaper and smooth the edges."

He began to head out of the room as he noticed One was nearly staring at his back. He looked back, "One?" One looked to be pondering something before speaking. "Perhaps I should accompany you." Five didn't know whether One didn't trust him with the crib or whether he actually enjoyed working with him. Either way, Five smiled, "Alright."

* * *

It started the second that Eight had awoken. He wasn't sure what it was bothering him, but something was, and it began the second that he felt warmth against his back. He knew it was Six, but something felt strange. He wasn't exactly able to put together what was bothering him, except that it involved Six, and it may have been brewing for a while. He went to get out of bed and put on his shoulder guard as usual.

Of course, that's when he looked to Six. The small Artist was still asleep, a small smile on his face as he lay curled in a tight ball in the center of the bed. That's when the strange feeling began to grow stronger. His pulse was racing, his hands clenched and unclenched, and he had the strangest feeling that he wanted to touch the other. He had this feeling before, but never this strong.

He could only guess it was triggered by everything involved with getting the other off of the magnet. Maybe it was how the other had overcome the cravings because he was afraid to lose Eight. It left Eight feeling this bizarre feeling and he beginning to become incredibly confused. As such, he went to seek help, and escape Six as quickly as possible. First, though, he found himself merely wandering around the throne room, unknowing who to go to.

It was when Nine came up the bucket lift and headed to the nursery that he guessed maybe that was where One was, since he was obviously not in the throne room. After a bit he took off down the hall. By the time he was heading down the hall, Nine was coming back, and they passed with few words, though he could hear Two greet them both from his bedroom. He then entered the nursery.

One and Five were working on the crib, hammering nails in, and waited patiently, letting his mind wander back to Six. Unfortunately, they began wandering to strange things, like how soft his lips were or how warm his canvas could get when rubbed the right way. Then, suddenly, One spoke his name in confusion. Eight looked up just in time to see a weird scene where One swung, Five yanked back, One glared at Five, and Eight wasn't sure what was going on.

He ignored it, "Hey Boss, I need to ask you something." One didn't look very pleased and Eight realized that this wasn't the time to be asking the Leader about anything, especially anything that involved these sorts of bizarre feelings. "Yes?" Eight paused, contemplating this, and then decided not to continue, "Never mind. It's nothing." He then backed out and took off straight down the hall once again.

Passing One and Two's bedroom, he could see Two looking bored, and gave him a brief nod of acknowledgement. Two smiled wide, "Oh, Eight, hello! Why don't you come in?" He offered, but Eight was hesitant, "I have to go… Run something by Seven. Then I'll be back." In a split second he had decided to speak to Seven about this. They sparred, they kept each other at a sibling level, so she seemed like the best one to go to.

Two kept his smile, "Yes… That's fine. Hurry back!" It was obvious that the Inventor was going stark raving mad from being stuck in bed. The Guard promised himself that he would return and headed to find Seven. Unfortunately, Seven was also busy with the twins, and entered her room only to be caught off guard. Then he smirked smugly. Seven retorted with a glare, "Don't say anything."

Here she was, wearing some sort of dress, being attended to by the twins. Eight didn't say anything, but kept his smug look, and she continued glaring at him in annoyance, "What are you doing here?" Eight straightened himself, "I need help with something. Some sort of weird, strange feeling that I can't-." Then, suddenly, Nine walked in. Eight went silent and Seven looked horrified. He waited until Nine left and Seven clutched her head in embarrassment before speaking again.

"Yeah, it's not important, never mind." Then exited the room as well. Seven, and the listening twins, weren't the answer. Instead, Eight knew who he had to speak to about this, and was hesitant to do so.

"I don't know how to explain this…" Eight spit out, "It's weird, it makes me- I'm not acting right and I know it's because what changed about us." He knew the other was listening and continued, "So yeah… We've changed a lot. I did some things in the past that I regret. I know why I did them though. Any bit of contact, any attention, it was what I lived for. I didn't realize that at the time, but I knew not to push too hard, not to say too much, not to hit at all."

He spun around, "I know that was wrong, I knew it then and I know it now, but I needed something… Then we changed, we turned into something else, and I realized something felt better than tearing up papers and throwing half-made insults. Just, you know, trying to help. Touching. Whatever that was when our mouths were together, I'm still not sure but I know that I want it, constantly, like the magnet. No, that's off. I want something else, I want… Everything. Everything I used to say I hated."

It was getting harder to speak and Eight hadn't felt this nervous before. He knew that he had to get the rest out quickly. "So… Yeah, it's complicated, but I think I just… I keep thinking 'is this what it was like for One and Two' and I… I guess that it was." These newer words were the revelation he was building towards. Eight was starting to eagerly piece that there was a reason why he wanted to hold Six close at all times.

Why Six looked so attractive, why his lips were so soft, and why Eight was suddenly becoming so aware of how attached to him he was. All it took was this magnet Incident to open his optics and make him admit the truth. "Almost like… It's like I…" He exhaled, braced himself, and voiced it. "I'm in love with you."

Six's mismatched optics widened in shock at the words, "You… You love me?" He asked in confusion and Eight looked down, "Yeah. I do. I just… Yeah." Six stared downwards as well as he took it in. He had only been awake for a few minutes when Eight propositioned him with this. Then he started to smile, laughing lightly and quietly, "I… I think I love you too." He forced out before he lost his nerve.

Then they were just awkwardly there, Eight standing there, Six sitting on the bed, until Eight finally took in exactly what Six had said. He suddenly decided that no more words needed to be exchanged between them and wrapped his arms around the Artist's small frame as he claimed his mouth again. Six was more than willing to give in, any lingering withdraws now completely forgotten, and hoping that this wasn't some sort of elaborate nightmare.

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**Mable: And so the arch has ended! Next Tuesday will begin the next update! In fact… Being the fiftieth chapter, something big is bound to happen, very soon… Either way, I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	50. Chapter 50: The New Stitchpunk

**Mable: We have FINALLY hit the halfway point! ^-^ I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

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_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Fifty: The New Stitchpunk_

They hadn't gone back to sleep, Eight was too awake for that, but they had stayed in bed for quite a while. He wasn't sure how long they had been meeting lips and when that just turned into him holding the smaller, but it made them both feel wonderful. At the present, Eight was listening to Six talk about another dream he had, but it was thankfully not a nightmare.

"I saw him again." Six murmured and he felt Eight's hand gently stroke his back. Usually he'd be upset about a dream of the Stitchpunk with the glowing eyes, but now he couldn't be upset about a thing. Eight had technically agreed to be his soulmate and that was more than Six could ever want out of life. He trailed on softly. "He was running around where the Cathedral used to be. I don't know what he was doing, though."

"What do you think he was doing?" Eight was not trying to pry Six for information, but more trying to encourage Six to talk, and just lay back and listen to the other speak. Six furrowed his stitched brow, "I… I don't know. Maybe he was looking for something? I'm sure that he's around here today, though." Now Eight was listening, "Around here?" Six nodded, "In the other dreams he's always leaving. Today, he's not. He's waiting for someone."

Eight began to sit up, "Think we should go looking for him?" Six paused, "Well I…" He seemed hesitant as he lay back on the bedspread, "I don't know. I was wrong before." The Guard still stood, "You weren't wrong, you just weren't sure, but now you are. What do we have to lose?" The Artist sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, "I guess we could try, but I'm not sure." He was hesitant to make promises after everything that had happened.

However, he did want to go, so he eagerly followed Eight out. In the hall, though, he stopped the Guard. "Wait." He felt like he owed the other for listening and raised himself up as high as he could while somewhat pulling Eight down. He pressed his mouth briefly to Eight's in a chaste kiss, "Love you." Eight returned the motion, "Love you too." They then pulled apart, tried to act like normal, and they entered the throne room.

Surprisingly, One and Five were speaking, and Eight was shocked as he assumed that the two would have killed each other by now. They could see Seven at the entrance to One and Two's room and guessed that a few were in there speaking to Two. Eight decided to be quick to the point, "Six saw something so we're heading over to the Burnt Remains." The 'Burnt Remains' is what One insisted calling the Cathedral as he didn't want to refer to it as the Cathedral.

One looked over, "Why, pray tell, would you be heading there?" Eight continued, "Six saw something so we're going to take a look." The Leader was skeptic and Six alerted his optics. Of course, the next thing he knew, Five suddenly spoke, "Maybe I'll go too. I can look for more parts, maybe something for the baby to play with." This seemed to convince One well enough. Of course, it didn't end there, and for some reason Six found the others, save One and Two, in the lift.

The twins moved into the Library, but the others apparently decided to come. Six was feeling a bit embarrassed, afraid he'd be wrong again, and yet they headed straight over to the Burnt Remains. It was a short walk and it ended in arriving at the empty shell of the Cathedral. Nine, Child, and Five began searching while Seven stood guard. Eight followed Six's lead, but the Artist was suddenly feeling uncomfortable now that he was here.

"I don't think he's here…" Six murmured, "Maybe later, maybe tonight, but not now. We should go home." Eight was confused and Six's change of heart, but wasn't too willing to give up yet. "Come on, let's just look around." The Guard started into the wreckage and Six followed along with him. He didn't want to show interest out of risk that he would be wrong. It wasn't long until they found something that Eight pointed out.

"Look at that." He gestured out and Six noticed that it was the cauldron that used to warm the Cathedral. "The one thing we never wanted to see again and it managed to survive." He pointed out as he stared down at it, "Doesn't even look that damaged. There's just a few black spots on it." Six remembered that it was the cauldron that tipped over and started the fire to begin with. It was tragic, as Six had loved the Cathedral, but seeing the cauldron did bring back a few pleasant memories.

"Can we keep it?" Six asked innocently as he touched the side of the bowl, black ash coming off onto his fingers. Eight hadn't looked as confused as he was now towards Six in quite a while, but soon directed his optics to the cauldron itself. "If you want it." Six smiled a little, "I do." Eight then agreed, deciding to put Six's feelings before whatever meltdown One would have when seeing it.

"I'll move this into the Library and be back." Six nodded as Eight decided to merely roll the cauldron back to the Library. Six used this time to continue looking around the remains.

* * *

Six managed to find things to do and the others found things to take back to the Sanctuary. They waited for the Stitchpunk with the glowing eyes to appear, but it never did. When evening came, which seemed like forever until it did, the group headed back towards their home. As Six expected, he had been wrong, and Eight subtle reassurances didn't help in the slightest. Nothing helped with the prospect that he was wrong again. However, this time he managed to recover a bit quicker.

Coming up the lift, Five and Nine were shocked to see that One was absent from the throne room and that Two was in his place. "Two? I thought you were on bed rest." Five pointed out as he exited the lift and approached his mentor in concern. Two waved it off with a reassuring smile. "One went to lay down with me and ended up fell asleep. With a few free minutes I decided to stretch my legs. Don't worry; I am not going to strain myself." The Healer smiled as the comment in relief and the others exited the lift.

Even though he was starting to get over it, Six was still pitifully dragging his feet as he started towards the corner of the Sanctuary where he kept some of his drawing supplies. Eight actually rested a hand on his back for a second, "We'll get him next time." He insisted the Artist forced a smile to please the other. The second the Guard went to his station it dropped and he looked a bit downcast once again. With a soft exhale, he started to ease, until the others approached him.

"Maybe we're looking in the wrong place." Seven suggested hopefully, "Or maybe he's moving."

"Or maybe he's not there at all." Nine spun back to glare at Child from the comment and whispered harshly, "What are you doing?" Child was unfazed, "Doing my job at being the designated inconvincible pessimist. I fill in for One." The zippered male clearly didn't find it amusing and merely looked to Toto, "It's alright, girl. Go get some rest." She then left the room, as though waiting for the dismissal to leave. Pet was soon sent after her.

Eight, meanwhile, turned to Two, "You doing okay?" The Inventor perked, "Me?" The Guard nodded. "Of course! Well, if you want me to be a bit honest, I am beginning to understand why One wants me on bed rest. I'm more than a bit tired and have barely done a thing." The Guard nodded again of understanding, almost like he did when One was in the throne and said anything that he wanted an answer to.

Honestly, Six wasn't sure why he was so upset. After last time, when he felt like he couldn't do anything right, and he received his first kiss with Eight, he had learned that there was a chance that not all dreams were visions. Even more confusing, after the magnet hazed dream from the other night, he realized that he was clearly seeing multiple things at once. Past, present, and future were smashed into one. So he gave himself leniency when something turned out wrong or different.

Maybe it was because he actually was positive that the Stitchpunk was in the vicinity today. Either way, he decided it was time to move on. "It's okay, everyone, I'm fine." He insisted, turning back to his drawing corner and lifting a nearby painting to look at it. "If… If he or she lived this long alone, they'll be fine for a while longer. I think they know where we live so they are always welcome to drop by tonight." Seven was a little disappointed that she couldn't help Six and turned back to Nine, Child, and Five.

The former two clearly giving each other bad looks. The twins appeared from the hall the second Seven spoke up, "If Six is sure that it will come tonight, we should keep an eye out." Child huffed, "Yes, because we know how sure Six was, saying multiple times that he 'wasn't sure'." Nine made sure to step into Child's line of vision, "You always have to do this. Why can't you believe there's someone out there?" Child retorted, "I never said I didn't. I said I would not consider it law until it wanders upon our doorstep."

Eight sort of chuckled at the display. Seeing Child and Nine arguing never seemed threatening or disturbing, it just seemed a bit strange, even the arguments themselves were full of blame and sarcasm to the brim. He then looked back to Two, "You sure you're alright?" The Inventor snapped, "Eight, I told you I was fine." He immediately recovered, "I didn't mean to be snippy. It's the baby talking again." Though Eight wasn't too unused to getting yelled at from the throne.

"I'm thinking you are sure." Nine retorted, "A bit too sure, and because of that you're upset when we find nothing." Child's optics rolled and Nine recoiled, "And don't do that!" Child huffed, "It is a symbol of contempt." The zippered male blinked, "You… Like the conversation?" Child huffed in annoyance, "Not 'content'. Contempt. Did I teach you anything with speech during out Luxembourgish tests?"

"Actually, you did! All I can say is that you're a _glott Kaerz!_" Child recoiled for a second in what seemed to be confusion, "I am, am I?" Nine huffed, "Of course you are!" Child was growing more and more annoyed, "If I am, then you are-." Nine interrupted, "Annoyed at best!" Child began to spill out words, "_Du verwinnt, weiblesch, hoffnungslos-._" It abruptly went to them both yelling at each other in Luxembourgish. Eventually, Five pulled Nine away.

Seven did approach Child after the scene out of curiosity, "What could he have called you that escalated it to that? You both know we should be worried about Six right now." She scolded and Child turned on her, "For your information, he was being very insulting. He referred to me as, in a language you will understand, a 'never to be pleased candle'." Seven's stitched brows furrowed in confusion, "He called you a candle?" Child looked away, "I said I taught him Luxembourgish, not that he used it well."

Eight huffed at the scene of Nine pouting over by Six before noticing something out of the edge of his vision. Something he had noticed twice before, "Two… I think I should wake up One." The times he noticed it, Two was able to pass it off, but not the looks of discomfort had turned to a look of pain that would not ease. Two rested his hand on his abdomen before nodding, "Yes, I… I think that would be best."

That's when everything seemed to crumble a bit. Eight immediately looked to Five, "We've got a real problem over here." In his eyes, anything involving Nine and Child was not an issue, and this was especially the case when Two looked like this. Five rushed to his mentor's side, "Two?" He asked in concern and Two seemed to get control, "It's okay, it's alright, it's starting to ease. Could you take me to One?"

The Healer nodded and led Two out of the room and to his and One's room. Five was very unsure about what was going on while Two seemed more aware. Upon stumbling into the bedroom, One shot up into the sitting position and demanded, "What are you doing out of bed?" He was answered by a panicking Five, "Something's wrong with Two!" One immediately dropped the subject of why Two was out of bed and went to assist him.

Soon Two was lying on the bed on his side, clutching his abdomen, keeping his breathing soft and relaxed. Five wasn't sure, but he expected that he knew what was going on. They were only interrupted by the gathering of others at the door. "Five, do me a favor." Two insisted, "Tell the others that I will be fine and that I'll be much better very soon. This is normal." The Healer was hesitant, but headed towards the door, only stopped by One, "And, Five, return when you are finished."

It was only at that comment did Five actually have a small idea about what was going on. He managed to push the others back to the throne room where he explained. "Okay, Two's going to be alright." Nine looked especially distressed, "Is he going to be okay? Was it the fight- I didn't mean to-." The Healer quickly shut this theory down, "No. It had nothing to do with the fight, I… I think Two's going to have the baby."

This was rewarded with a few shocked looks from the others. Six, especially, looked alarmed at the finding. Five spoke again, "It'll be okay. I'm going to help them and it'll go okay." Three came closer and gave him a smile that trigged his own; in the middle of the concern their actually was a good thing. He put his hand on her arm briefly before hurrying back into the bedroom.

"We'll just wait out here." Seven insisted, gesturing to the rest of the throne room, "If they need us then they'll come get us. For now, we need to give them their time." She beckoned the twins who loyally followed, Nine soon drug himself away, and Six was left staring. "Creator." He murmured softly and Eight glanced to him, "What's wrong?" The Artist looked up in shocking realization, "I… I think I… I predicted a baby that I already knew was coming?!"

Suddenly the Stitchpunk with the glowing optics was making a bit more sense even though Eight still seemed a few steps behind. That was alright, though, because Six was going anywhere from the realization of the prediction of something he already knew of.

Meanwhile, Five was instructed to sit behind Two to hold him, stroking his shoulders and bracing him. Two was switching between joy and pain fluidly as One waited. Then, at one point, they agreed to 'go ahead'. Two insisted that it was time and One slowly opened his front. Five could see a light emanating from Two's depths as the Leader cautiously reached in and pulled out a very small being. This was the first time Five actually saw a baby and was watching closely.

There was a small cord attached betwixt the baby and Two that One gently unplugged. Upon doing so, the infant suddenly seemed to awaken, shrieking out in cries, high pitched and shrill. It also began to move, barely, but its small limbs curled inwards as it took its first breaths. For a few seconds One could merely stare at it with an unreadable expression, as though he was speechless, and the small infants' cries continue onwards until One finally snapped out of his trance.

The light in Two's abdomen had diminished and he gratefully took the baby as Five moved out from behind him. Two was beaming as he looked at the infant. He softly chuckled before he broke into sobs of joy. One had set a blanket to the side and used it to wrap around the baby. Two held it protectively to his chest, stroking over its head and causing it to softly calm down. Five still didn't get a good view, but decided to slip out and give One and Two sometime alone.

One was obviously pleased as he was whispering soft, sweet sounding words to both Two and the new baby while the Inventor cuddled the infant to his front. The baby finally quieted as Two spoke to him, "Look at what we made, One." Was the last thing Five heard before he went into the throne room to tell the others the good news. They flocked immediately as he entered the room and he swallowed any shyness from the attention to speak, "The baby's been born!"

Everyone was immediately throwing questions at Five who responded the best that he could, knowing little about the baby, until they were all interrupted. One abruptly entered the throne room, looking surprisingly happy, and spoke with the same tone in his voice. "If you are quiet and cautious you may come in to see him." He then left. Nobody ran in, they instead moved slowly. Seven entered first with the twins at her back.

Two was now sitting up, but looked tired still. Most likely he had passed off his rest so that the others could meet the new Stitchpunk in his grasp. "Come in." He beckoned softly, "He's awake. Don't worry." Three approached first with Four behind her and their optics scanned the bundled creature. It was obviously One and Two's child. Its face was round, soft, like Two's and its optics had sharp pupils like One's.

It's small hand were tucked in while a bit of its front could be seen, being like Two's, and a small bit of red could be seen from what was perhaps a vest. It didn't seem to be able to distinguish other Stitchpunks well yet. Its optics seemed too dilated and he was on the verge of falling asleep. One was being quite protective, hovering over both Two and his child, reaching down to touch the small hand that was grasping at nothing.

The others moved in as well, a few being hesitant and keeping distance while still watching. "He's lovely, Two." Seven voiced and Two smiled, looking down at his son, "He is. He's absolutely perfect." The small infant actually did look toward Two, but it clearly could not yet see well, and it showed little facial expression other than the look of tiredness and innocence. Two leaned down and pressed his mouth to the infant's forehead, "My little Twenty-One. Welcome to the world."

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**Mable: Welcome, new baby! Don't worry, there will be more with him in the future, but we must remember that newborns don't readily do much. ^-^ As for the translations, Nine did call Child a 'hard to please candle'. As such, Child referred to Nine as 'spoiled', 'feminine', and 'hopeless'.**

**There is some lesser news, however. Because I've fallen back, and this is such a big chapter, I am contemplating this being the only upload this week. We'll see. I may upload tomorrow or I will upload next week, we shall see, but I will be working as fast as possible! I hope everyone enjoyed!**


	51. Chapter 51: The Baby Minding

**Mable: Chapter fifty-one! I don't own 9 or the Stitchpunks, Enjoy!**

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_**Souls Run Deep**_

_Chapter Fifty-One: The Baby Minding_

The Stitchpunks were unable to know much about Twenty-One's personality at first. In fact, he didn't really have one at all. The baby was still a mystery by time they were ushered out of the room. They decided to all come to their own conclusion at a reasonable pace, knowing they would see more of the baby in the future, and nobody was too concerned about it.

That was, until early in the morning, before the sun even rose. This was the first indication that raised an infant would be as difficult as One and Two let on. He suddenly began to wail without any sort of provocation. He shrieked into the night, whining, and triggering the others to awaken with a jolt. Eight was the one to dash into One and Two's room with his knife in hand. Screaming signaled danger, that was what the Stitchpunks knew by heart, but as he entered the bedroom he saw what was occurring.

Two was awake, but lay in bed exhausted as One held Twenty-One, rocking the still whimpering infant that was beginning to quiet down. Eight wasn't exactly sure why it randomly began to cry, but headed back to bed, simple as that. However, a few hours later, when the sun started to come up, it happened again. Again, Eight ran into the room, and there was One and Two taking care of the baby.

In fact, during the next day, the baby continued to have random times when it would suddenly cry for no apparent reason. One or Two would comfort it and then it would calm down. They seldom left it, one of them was always with him, and it wasn't until the afternoon that they actually were allowed to see the baby up close again. Two came out in the middle of the afternoon with the infant bundled in his grasp, smiling proudly.

One had allowed the Inventor to settle into his throne and loyally stood beside him as he coddled their child. The others were all curious, but Nine especially. He wanted to look over the baby up close, but couldn't do so while One and Two were hovering over it. He managed to view from across the room but could see little more than its face. Which, unfortunately, showed little as the baby seemed to have two expressions; looking around with a questioning look and sleeping.

He slept a lot as well. It seemed One would randomly hush everyone simply because the baby had, again, fallen asleep. Nine wanted to see him up close and decided that, perhaps, he would go past One and Two to do so. He would need assistance and knew this. For this, he would usually seek out Five, as he was his closest friend and always eager to help. He couldn't do that now; he wouldn't want to put Five in the position between him and his Mentor.

Instead, he went to the one he reluctantly continued to end up looking to. Child was in his room building what looked like a bedframe when Nine entered in and spoke up. "Hey, what are you doing?" The other shrugged a bit, "Working." Nine stared at the floor before speaking up, "I'm going to do something tonight…" Child didn't look over, "Some sort of romantic plan with Seven, I assume?" He had that uninterested tone like he was merely speaking to pacify the other and wasn't paying real attention.

"No. I'm going to pick up the baby." Nine voiced bravely and Child hid a small, amused smile, "Ah, suicide then, sounds promising." Nine huffed before speaking, "I need someone to distract One and Two so I can see Twenty-One without them hovering over us or being afraid." Child huffed at the comment and pulled back, looking to the other with a scrutinizing, exhausted look, and asked, "What do you expect?"

"What?" Nine asked in confusion. Child stood and continued on, "Do you expect to speak to the baby and to have it understand and see you as a friend? Because that will not happen. It cannot possibly happen." Nine blinked and Child exhaled calmly before beckoning the zippered male over. The younger sat on the palette as Child leaned against the wall, "When you were born, how long did it take you to learn about your surroundings? To learn about the others?"

"Well..." Nine thought back, "I left the First Room and met Two pretty quick, he replaced my voice box, and then he was attacked by a Cat Beast. That was how I learned about the Beasts. Then Five rescued me and I met One and Eight-." He cut off. Even though Child seemed to be interested, Nine spoke up, "One and Two said the baby won't be able to talk yet, I know that." Child exhaled, "No, you don't, but that is fine. You have never been around infants."

It occurred to Nine that this meant Child had seen infants before and wondered if they were human. Child continued, "Twenty-One cannot understand anything, he is too young. He can only cry when something disturbs him and wait for his parents to assist him. He understands affection, to an extent, but is too young to understand much else. He can't fathom as you being anything except a being. It may begin smiling in a month or so, and laughing, but we will have a year or so before walking and talking."

Nine looked down at his hands before looking up, "I know. Even if he can't understand, I want to see him. He is a new Stitchpunk and…" He smiled a little, "Aren't you excited? He's a little Stitchpunk! And eventually he'll begin to understand, maybe even sooner if we try to communicate with him, aren't you excited?" Child paused and nodded, "I am. However, we must remember he is only a day old, so don't expect to pick him up. Keep with looking at him."

"So you'll help me?" Nine asked and Child paused before exhaling and approaching the bed. "Perhaps. For now, tell me more." Nine blinked, "About what?" Child shrugged, "About your first memories." As such, the zippered one smiled, and then continued to explain.

Later on, Nine decided to go along with his plan, and managed to convince Child to assist him. More; he kept asking Child until the male finally gave in. Being virtually apathetic, he was the only one willing to assist Nine in getting into the nursery without worrying how it would affect anyone else. As they passed the throne room, Child spoke up, "I have a plan. When we pass One and Two's room, go inside." He commanded and the zippered one nodded, "And then?"

With that, Child fondled his shoulder, and there was a cracking noise before it looked displaced. Nine stared in horror, "Did you just break your arm?" Child huffed, "Of course I didn't. It just looks like I did and will work well enough." Nine nodded and jumped into One and Two's room as planned. The other headed back to the nursery and peered inside. He paused inside the doorway before returning once again.

"They aren't in there." Nine exited the shadows of One and Two's room and immediately headed down the hall, "They can't be far. They didn't want to take the baby that far from the crib." He quickly noticed that Child wasn't following as readily. He glanced back, "Child?" The other male was fondling his shoulder before he admitted, slightly annoyed, "My shoulder won't go back."

Nine became confused, "It's going to stay like that?" Child gave a disgruntled look, "It can't stay like this. My arm won't function." The other smacked his forehead with his palm in exasperation, "Then why did you do it in the first- Never mind. We'll get Two to fix it after we find him." He then turned away and the male glared half-heartedly, "You would have been concerned if it was Seven. But, oh no, it's just me, so cast me aside." Nine didn't seem to hear him.

They circled around the Sanctuary and eventually managed to come to the conclusion that One and Two were missing, and had taken the baby with them. Thankfully, Five was in the Workshop, so Nine managed to prod Child into getting his arm fixed. "Did you fall on it?" Five asked in confusion as he looked at the odd shoulder placement. Child was obviously ashamed to admit he did it himself and instead did a half shrug in explanation.

"Where's Two?" Nine asked curiously and Five smiled a bit. "One and him took Twenty-One for a walk around the Library. They should be back soon. It's a lot for a one day old to take in." He said with a playful smile and this caught Nine's attention. "Will they put him to bed?" He asked and Five shrugged, "Probably." This immediately sent Nine through a makeshift plan. He didn't expect One and Two to be in the room long so he could just wait inside, hide, and let them leave.

Before he could leave, Child's good hand clamped on his arm, and insisted that he didn't leave until this was over without saying a word. Nine watched as Five led the limb back into the correct position once again and saw the brief look of pain pass by the pale male's face. To be a good friend, Nine rubbed his free hand with his own, and the event was soon over. Once done Five reassured him with a, "Make sure to be careful." And a gentle smile.

Nine soon released Child and dashed into the hall, into the throne room, and noticed that the Leader and Inventor were back. Right now Seven was looking into the bundle on Two's arms, unknowingly keeping him distracted as Nine went to hide out and wait for the two to leave the baby unattended. "He's precious, Two." Seven complimented as she stroked her hand over the little one's head, "He's going to be a very handsome Stitchpunk. Isn't he?"

She finished the comment almost like a question to the baby who stared up at her, its hands gripping and releasing as its mouth stayed slightly agape. "He certainly will." One abruptly decided to answer, "And he will also be the one who takes the throne after I leave it. My son and my heir." Seven decided to actually embrace One's pride instead of deflate it like usual, "I'm sure he'll make a good Leader, One."

That's when Twenty-One started to pull his hands in and his optics began to close. Two chuckled, "It looks like it's time for someone's nap, my Little One." He spoke with a smile and looked to One and Seven, "Let me put him for his nap. He's had such a big day." The Leader followed, "Yes he has." He kept it hidden until he was clear away from Seven before he, too, began to coddle the infant. Two handed him over and allowed One to hold his child tight against his chest.

They entered the nursery and tucked their son into bed, both making sure to be affectionate, and waited until he was asleep before they left. One coaxed Two into their room, however, and the Inventor followed. He had a feeling from One's tone that he knew what the other male was about to suggest. As Two entered, fixing his side of the bed that looked a bit askew, One spoke, "How are you feeling? It has only been a day."

"Fantastic." Two answered, "Honestly, I haven't felt better. Last night was tiring, yes, but I feel rejuvenated… And, perhaps, a bit lighter." He responded with a soft chuckle as One murmured, "You certainly returned to your previous form. You cannot tell that you were carrying our child at all." He had an odd tone that Two recognized as interest and softly smiled, "How long have you been staring at me?"

"Quite some time." One answered in a heavy tone. He stood and crossed over to his loved, slipping his arms around him, and tugging Two back against him, "How long has it been?" Two reached down and rested his hand upon One's, "Perhaps since we first discovered the truth. I cannot completely remember." One released a soft noise that sounded like a growl as his mouth moved to latch on the other's neck. Softly kissing and mouthing is, his warmth mouth kissing him, then moving to the shoulder to take a small bit of fabric into his mouth.

Two sighed softly before reminding the other, "Twenty-One?" One shook his head, "He will be asleep for some time." He began to turn his mate around as Two playfully resisted his efforts, "But Five! Perhaps he needs to speak with me?" He was slowly pushed down upon the bed, his much smaller frame being overtaken by One's, and the Leader took his mouth briefly before speaking, "Nobody needs you more than I."

His hands skillfully examined every inch of Two's fabric, checking over his vest, his waist, his newly deflated abdomen, and ending up with one hand on his ties and the other on his cheek. Two had other ideas and grasped onto One's caped shoulders, pulling him down, "Come now, we're not that desperate. Let's slow down just a bit." One gave in to such a temptation as Two's mouth went for his.

"Five said-." Child choked back a weird noise, "Creator, I have to stop walking in on you two…" One immediately looked to him with a glare to cover up obvious embarrassment and the pale male inched behind the wall. "So anyway, Five said that he needed Two to- I don't know- Do something." One looked to Two and two smiled reassuringly, "Let me just help Five and then we can finish this. Alright Love?"

"Very well." One caved and moved off of the top of Two, "I will accompany you and make sure he does not overwork you." Of course, usually he wouldn't be interested at all, but he obviously wanted to prod his mate into hurrying back so that they could continue where they let off. They exited the room and headed towards to the Workshop. Child watched them before suddenly breaking down and beginning to choke on light laughter.

At that second, he could see movement under the bed, and watched a very flustered Nine crawl out from under the confines of the bed that One and Two just were on. He was obviously embarrassed and his face was burning with heat. He quickly headed out of the room, deciding that he was going no longer address the baby, and leave it be to nap while he tried to block out the mental ideas and noises that had now been burned into his memory.

He doubted he could ever look at One or Two the same again.

* * *

Six gasped and sat up; tonight was the night.

He blinked and adjusted to the darkness as he slipped out of bed. It was definitely tonight. The Stitchpunk with the glowing optics was going to appear, tonight, and it wasn't the baby. He decided against waking Eight and crossed into the hall before heading down into the throne room. It was a quiet evening that was only interrupted by the soft sound of wind outside. It had earlier been raining, but seemed to have stopped by now.

He looked around and felt nothing except the feeling that someone else was nearby; that he wasn't alone. Determined, he followed his instincts, which led him into the baby's room. He couldn't hear anything from One and Two's room, so he assumed that they were asleep, but headed straight to the nursery. Entering inside, he had a stronger feeling pulsing inside. That was when he heard a soft noise that sounded like a chirp almost.

He crossed to the crib and peered in to see that the baby was awake, staring at the hanging streamers that Two put above his crib. Six felt himself smile a little as he looked at the little Stitchpunk and felt incredibly eased. "It was you…" He murmured, "It was you the entire time, but that's okay." He reached in and rubbed a hand over the little one's blanket covered belly. It responded with another soft coo, not sounding distressed, and continued to stare about almost as though it was searching.

Its slanted optics did rest on Six for a second though and it made the Artist feel good. "I'm glad it was you." This entire time was building up for this moment. Him being able to touch a new life that now grasped on the tip of his finger with a tightened grip. Six chuckled a bit at this and watched as the infant soon began to grow tired. It yawned, its optics closed more, and he pulled the blanket up higher before turning towards the doorway.

He was glad he had got up; he needed that. As he headed down the hall towards the throne room he thought about everything. Maybe his visions weren't completely accurate, with a Stitchpunk with glowing eyes and white fabric, but he was predicting some things. He predicted a new life, a young baby boy, and was now able to accept that maybe he just needed a bit more work. Maybe he needed to train, like with his telekinesis, and then he'd be fine.

He entered the throne room and looked over at the other Stitchpunk in the room as he headed to the hall. Then he froze in his tracks.

He had, firstly, assumed it was Seven sneaking in, but now he was sure that it wasn't. It was hard to distinguish much in the darkness, but upon staring at the other Stitchpunk he realized, very quickly, that he did know this Stitchpunk.

It was the Stitchpunk with the glowing optics from his visions. It had come.

* * *

**Mable: Another Stitchpunk?! What's the count now?... Ah, doesn't matter, because it'll keep rising if One and Two keep going at the pace they are. ^-^ Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed, and the new chapter will be up tomorrow!**


	52. Chapter 52: The Crawlspace Workshop

**Mable: Chapter Fifty-Two! I don't own 9, Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Souls Run Deep **_

_Chapter Fifty-Two: The Crawlspace Workshop_

Six just stared at the Stitchpunk and watched as it stared back. It was obviously uneasy and began to edge back to the bucket lift. The second he noticed this, Six launched himself forward, trying to stop him. "Wait!" He shrieked, "Wait, wait, stop!" Apparently Eight was either waiting for him to come back or suddenly a light sleeper because he appeared in the doorway and actually caught sight of the white blur that dropped down the lift.

Six was too cautious to throw himself into the dropping lift, but seeing was the closest thing he had to proving he was correct. "Was that Seven?" Eight asked in confusion and the Artist looked back immediately, "Eight, that was him! The one with the glowing eyes- he's real- he just-…" Child was out next, as his bedroom was closest, and Eight was just staring down the lift. "How'd he get in?!"

"I don't know." Six answered, "He… He must have come in while I was looking at the baby. He was over by the throne." Looking over, he clearly saw something changed with the throne, and approached. Around this time, One came barreling out of his room, thoroughly annoyed, "It is the middle of the night!" He scolded to the growing group of congregating Stitchpunks who were equally confused. Eight explained, "That Stitchpunk Six's been seeing was up here."

"He was in the Sanctuary?" Seven asked in disbelief and Eight nodded, "Yeah, standing right over there. I thought it was you." One was skeptic, "It could have very well been her. Covering your tracks again, Seven? Trying to pretend you are innocent when you were frolicking about?" Seven huffed, "One, how would I run around, go down the lift, and still be able to come out of my room?" The Leader glared in suspicion, but pointedly didn't answer her question.

"Here…" Six murmured, carrying something over from the throne, "Look." It was yet another, small, folded up blanket of soft material. However, the fabric was a royal blue that they didn't have any of, and it was stitched surprisingly well. "He left this. He was bringing this." Six explained as he handed it to One who took the blanket and looked it over. He was now bought over and certainly confused. "It is some sort of offering from the looks of it."

"Why would it make a blanket and leave?" Nine asked from the doorway, confused, and Five, behind him, responded with a grimmer question said in an almost hesitant tone, "How did it know about Twenty-One?" One looked back, "What?" Five pointed to the blanket, "It's Twenty-One's size, like it was made for him, but how would he know about Twenty-One when he's… Only a day old?" This was disturbing and Five finished, "Has he been watching us?"

The tone became much tenser after this, but Six tried to almost defend the Stitchpunk, "Maybe he sees things, like I do, and brought it as a gift." Around this time Two appeared and One quickly explained the situation. Two took it in a less tense tone, "Perhaps Six is right." He suggested, "Not all of us are especially outgoing. Suppose it was born after Nine and has been alone, maybe it is afraid, maybe this gift is it trying to show that it wants to be allies."

"It ran from Six. It was dodging something." Eight pointed out, crossing his arms, "It's not like Six is terrifying." Seven spoke up, "Were you out here?" Eight shook his head before stopping and glaring at her. She went serious quickly from the situation, "We can't very well just let him leave. He may be scared, but it's dangerous out there, and the weather is getting cold."

"You are absolutely correct." Two spoke up, "If he is this cautious, watching us from afar, he may be young." He then looked at the stitched cloth in his hands. "And, might I add, stitches beautifully. We may have a young Seamstress on our hands. I- No, don't give me that look, you know I meant the occupation." Nine was becoming increasingly concerned about the situation. He could remember when he was newborn, hiding in confused, and knew how terrifying it would've been if he was trapped alone for too much longer.

"We need to go after him." He spoke, giving charge, and One seemed to challenge him. "Yes, so it seems. I will go. As the Leader, I should be the one to do so, especially since he has been monitoring my child." Two obviously wanted to come, but held himself back, "I will stay here and watch for if he returns, and for the baby. Perhaps Three and Four will keep me company?" The twins were awake, so they nodded, and Child spoke, "I'll stay as well to keep watch."

Nine smiled teasingly, "You just don't want to go." Child shrugged and then nodded a bit nonchalantly. One then continued, "Six, you will lead us, as I am sure you will know where he went. Eight, you will come along as well. Seven, I assume you won't stay at home." She huffed, "One, I rather be there while you accuse me of things I haven't done." They exchanged a glare before Nine spoke, "Five, maybe you should come to."

Five looked hesitant and Nine insisted, "You could bring one of your maps to help us get around." Three also reassuringly held his arm to the point that he finally gave in, seeing her proud smile. "Alright, I'll come…" With that in agreement, they started to set off, getting ready to leave. Two brought Twenty-One out to see his father before he left, "It's alright, Little One." One could be heard speaking to the infant. "Daddy will be back shortly." Twenty-One, meanwhile, seemed to not understand, but did grab onto his father's finger.

Three helped Five get his bag and needle harpoon ready before loading him onto his back. "Thanks." He smiled before leaning over to kiss her, gripping his bag's strap as she gently petted over his patch, still acting proud of him going on such a 'dangerous' mission. Eight and Seven grabbed their weapons from their rooms and Six stared down into the Library below. He had a feeling that he knew which way the Stitchpunk went. He could feel it.

* * *

It was quite bright outside even though it had previously been raining. Thankfully it had stopped doing so and the moon had managed to peek out a bit. The night was still cold, though, and they moved quickly as possible towards a very familiar location. They recognized the house as the one that Six had led them to before, in the strip of houses, by the possibly abandoned Beast's nest.

It was quickly addressed that there was a light in one of the windows and Seven volunteered to go in. Of course, once inside, Six was growing nervous, "I think I should go in." He insisted to Eight, "Maybe he'll recognize me." The Guard was hesitant, "If he's confused he could get violent and that's the last thing we want." He was clear that he didn't want that, but Six spoke up, "You let Seven go in."

"I'm not worried about what happens to her. She can handle her own." Six's stitched brows raised in surprise at the comment and Eight defended, "Not that you can't handle your own or anything. I just don't want you to have to end up throwing that guy through the wall or- You can go in." He suddenly caved and Six could only stare in confusion before slowly turning to go inside the house after Seven. He decided not to respond, less Eight change his mind again.

Nine went to follow, but was stopped by One. "We will be waiting here. Less he flee again, then we shall be able to stop him before such." Nine wasn't too thrilled with the plan, but went along with it. Seven was already scanning the few intact rooms on the bottom floor when the other two made it. The source of the light was obviously upstairs, but Seven wasn't about to fall for a diversion.

Soon, however, the group headed up the steps and through a disheveled second floor. It was dreadfully disturbing, rooms full of dust and remnants of nothing, pictures that had fallen from the wall and now lay on the ground, covered in broken glass. They searched thoroughly through each room before they reached the room with the light source, a single lit candle, and Six used his telekinesis to pull it down to them. As expected by Seven, it was a diversion, as they could clearly hear footsteps from outside the room at this time.

Seven cursed and took off out of the room. She caught sight of the male in question and could see why it was mentioned to resemble her, since their fabric was very similar. Even whatever outer covering he was wearing was a dulled white. He looked to be carrying a bag and other supplies, so he was somewhat heavy and lagging down, and this was to Seven's advantage. She started to gain on him, "Wait!" She called, knowing there was no reason to be stealthy.

He seemed to be heading in a set direction and was disappearing into the back of the house quickly. Running after him, she followed him into a disarrayed room, and watched as he slipped through a crack in the floor to whatever was underneath. She knew to follow him and dropped down into the crawlspace beneath the house before peering around. He seemed to abruptly vanish in the darkness.

Hearing the sound of Eight above her was relieving and he soon was at the crack. "He went down there?" He asked to her and she nodded silently. It was clear that Eight couldn't follow down with her, but Six could, and managed to slide through the wooden slit in the floor. He looked around before pointing into the dark, "That way… I think…" She nodded in understanding and took in the direction before stopping at Eight swearing.

Then there was a loud noise from above that sounded metallic.

* * *

In the meantime of waiting, One, Five, and Nine checked around the house, circling it and staring up at the windows above. "Nine quicken your pace." One spoke up as he noticed Nine lagging while they were trailing around the base of the house. Right now, they were crossing some wooden planks laid across the ground. "The last thing we want is to continue to-." One cut off as he hit the ground.

It took a second for Nine and Five to realize that One's foot had slipped between the boards that, apparently, covered an open hole, and that was why he had fallen to his knees, or knee. Five attempted to help him up and Nine went on the other side to do so, leaning against the edge of the house that suddenly gave. Nine's arms pin wheeled as he fell back after the loose board on the wall and rolled backwards down it when it landed on a slope.

It knocked the wind out of him and took Five helping him up to regain himself. One quickly voiced his theory, "This must be the crawl space under the house. Perhaps the wood outside was to mark it and the dirt underneath washed away some. Yes, that sounds fair." He agreed with himself as the younger two looked about. There was obviously something set up nearby, an enclosed area, and it caught Nine's attention immediately.

They circled around before they found a small opening in the edge of the wall that was an entranceway. Entering inside, Five was the one to find a switch, and managed to turn it on and alight the area in a pale glow from some processed electricity running through a series of bulbs. Looking around, the three were alarmed at the surroundings. It looked like something, or someone, had set up their own home within the crawlspace of the house.

It was a collection of odds and ends. Silverware and paper clippings, paper and toys, and it immediately unnerved One. "He is no newborn. No newborn would be this organized." Five, as well, started to edge back in horror. Nine soon noticed it and looked back, "Five?" The Healer gestured ahead, "Look at that." There, tacked against the closest wall, was a map. Crossing over, Nine and Five could see where numerous places were labeled with drawings and coordinates.

Nine focused on the small, script writing before looking back at Five, "What is this?" Five looked closely, "I'm pretty sure it's a map." Nine corrected, "Not that. I meant what does it say? I don't think it's Luxembourgish." Five smiled sheepishly, "Oh, right, sorry. I don't know." The zippered male looked over to One who was looking through a wooden chest nearby, shaking his head. "One?"

"I cannot fathom why someone would have this many clothing objects. As well, most look completely untouched. How wasteful." He scolded nobody in particular as Nine spoke up, "Can you read this?" One stood tall and crossed over to the two, looking at the map, staring at the language, "Creator…"

"What?" Nine asked in confusion and One scoffed, "Look at the size of this writing. It is nearly identical to Two's." Five nodded and One leaned in closer to read the print, "I have seen the writing before, but I cannot read it…" He continued to examine it as Nine decided to give him space while he himself would continue to investigate the surrounding 'Sanctuary'. That's when he found the back quarters.

It was a small living area with a bed made out of a small box filled with cloth and such. It was dim in here as there was only a single bulb that seemed to be dying even as he looked around. Turning on his staff, he soon was confronted with what had to be the oddest fact of all. Beside the bed was yet another chest that he readily opened only to stare at a collection of small, cloth dolls. Confusion swept him as he lifted one that looked an awful lot like Eight.

"Five, come look at this!" He called and soon his best friend was cautiously entering the bedroom behind him. He threw the Eight doll to Five who managed to catch it and stared at it. "Is this… Eight?" Nine nodded, "Yeah. There's more too." He lifted one that looked like himself, "Huh… Wait…" Then another one, "Wait, I think there's two of me for some reason." Five kneeled beside him, "Maybe it's one of me. I sort of look like you."

"I think this one's yours. There's only one… with buttons." He covered at the end and Five cracked a smile, "Impressive save." Nine chuckled nervously, "I've been trying. Wait, look." A doll near the top caught his attention. It looked unfinished, with no features. "He was making another… Maybe Twenty-One…" Five shivered, "He's been watching us a long time… Look at these details. Why would someone go through so much to make a doll?"

One now appeared, "What doll?" Nine showed one of the dolls and the Leader gasped, "Put those things down! You do not know what could be in or on them!" Five promptly dropped his own into the chest. Nine kept one of his own in his hands, "Five's right. Someone went through a lot of effort. Look at these stitches." One approached and nearly ripped the doll out of Nine's hand, "I told you to put this down!"

"Hey!" Nine retorted as the doll was snatched, "You're going to tear it, One, and don't you find it strange that there are dolls that look like _us _here?! Look, there's even a baby-." One glared, "That does not matter! This entire area could be filled with hidden traps waiting to spring upon us and you recklessly-!..." He trailed off and Nine watched his optics turn to the doll that was now face down in his hand. He was staring at the back, at the miniature number, and Nine asked, "What?"

Suddenly, One grabbed his shoulder and forced him to turn around, nearly shoving him against the wall. Nine let out a noise of annoyance as One studied his back and the doll's. Five also looked on, slowly starting to catch One's realization, "They look so similar... He really was watching us. One?" One released Nine who promptly turned around to see One looking horrified. He spoke up, "One, what is it?"

"It…" One started before tossing the doll into the box and hurrying out of the sleeping quarters, muttering to himself. Nine and Five looked at each other in confusion before turning to follow him. "One, did you notice anything?" Five asked cautiously as One stared at the map before crossing towards a small table. There were papers on it, written in the other language, and One searched through them.

"This is wrong." He muttered, "This- This is completely insane. One, you know better than this." Nine leaned over cautiously and whispered to his friend, "He's whispering to himself." Five nodded, "He does this sometime. Try to stay back." However, One was becoming frantic, only stopping when he found something that seemed to register. Nine went to ask when One attempted to read, "Vitae… Transmutata?... It's the same. Dear Lord, it's the same, it is all completely identical- I knew I saw the handwriting before and it was right before my optics. I am blind."

"It was small." Five excused and One turned on him, "Did you not see? The doll's back and Nine's? It-." He suddenly cut off as a loud bang came from the house above, before the three looked up. "What was that?" One asked cautiously as Nine and Five took off, out into the crawlspace where they could hear something moving above in the house. They both knew that wasn't the Stitchpunk; it was a Beast.

* * *

**Mable: It's the Spoiler Beast. He comes and shreds at Stitchpunks when they try to reveal spoilers. XD Kidding! Next chapter will be up tomorrow, I hope everyone enjoyed!**


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